


Ten Seas Crossed

by starrymeis (meiqis)



Category: NCT (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Merpeople, Because I can, Falling In Love, Fluff and Smut, Human/Mermaid Sex, Human/Monster Romance, M/M, Mating Bites, Porn With Plot, Renjun is a mermaid, Teeth kink, human eating monsters
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-04
Updated: 2020-09-04
Packaged: 2021-03-06 19:55:27
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 26,771
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26284546
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/meiqis/pseuds/starrymeis
Summary: Up close, he could hear the human’s thrumming heartbeat, heavy and fast, beating so enticingly, just for him.He wanted attention - wanted this man’s attention, and he was eager to get it. He snapped forward, teeth dragging against skin, smooth beneath his lips where he felt the little bulging of his scratches, hitting bone, the edge of the jaw, and he finally let go. Scarlet red was oozing from where he had bitten too hard, was coloring his lips and distracting him for that short second.But what he hadn't anticipated, to happen after this night, was to lose his heart along with his focus...
Relationships: Huang Ren Jun/Lee Jeno
Comments: 27
Kudos: 165





	Ten Seas Crossed

**Author's Note:**

> I blame this on [Aya](https://twitter.com/Iuvmarcus) and [Tine](https://twitter.com/reonjeolmis) entirely who showed me a fanart and then talked about human eating sirens so... here we are... Renjun eating humans but making an exception for Jeno entirely... 
> 
> Also, big thanks to [Bon](https://twitter.com/1ightitup) for answering my random questions about smut
> 
> I rage wrote this within a week so it isn't my best but... have fun? lol
> 
> Renjun's appearance is inspired by [purple betta fish](https://i.pinimg.com/564x/30/9a/00/309a0054421813b47aca493c98a81cd0.jpg) and Yuta's by [red arowana](https://i.pinimg.com/originals/e3/4b/c2/e34bc2db57003b2636c9c9d5a706cfbc.jpg)
> 
>  **trigger warnings** \- eating humans. monsterfucking but make it romantic. skulls and bones. occasional blood. minor injuries (like, really minor).

Life, when bound to the sea, could sometimes be awfully tiring, that was something Renjun had realized quite early on in his life. Fish live in shoals, are socially and distract hunters by grouping en mass, but it wasn’t the same with his kind. They were the hunters and they liked their space - _territorial_ , as one human had once called it, one of the few he had kept alive for a few hours for his own entertainment. His own kind had always referred to it as _hunting grounds_ , the area they all owned, surrounding islands so full of fish, flourishing and inviting to lure in the humans that served most of their meals.

Luring in humans was their favorite task indeed, and Renjun adored their stupidity, so well aware of the dangers of the seas, of sirens and merfolk, sea creatures and monsters, yet they kept heading out, deluded by the idea of discovering new lands and finding treasures. Stupid naive humans, thinking a siren’s lair was the greatest treasure one could find, stupidly heading their in hopes of slaying the monsters before they would devour them. So far, out of the few others of his kind he knew and met during mating season, none had ever been speared, no harpoon strong enough to pierce them, no spear fast enough to not be escaped. They were small, more agile than their bigger counterparts of whales, dolphins and sharks that had no such speed on them. Neither did their nets work, easily sliced apart by the sharp fins adorning their lower arms, slicing through the feeble strings. 

Humans were laughable to him, it must be the same for them with their livestock. Sometimes, on the rare occasion they were pretty enough to keep, he made them talk about it. But keeping them meant toeing fine lines, his hunting habits not befitting their diet, and he didn’t enjoy them vomiting into his cave simply because they couldn’t stomach raw fish - how ungrateful! Make them delirious enough from hunger and dehydration they would spill their every secret, confess their every sin, and tell him about their lives and society, yet never to the point their body would start devouring their own fat, leaving him nothing but skin and bone. Muscle tasted nice, he maybe liked that best, stringy meat full of protein, he liked taking it apart, eat it like a snack.

Naturally, for that same reason, hunting down humans, finding those intruding on his territory, was his favorite hobby and pastime. How mournful it was they didn’t pass by that often, sometimes caught by other sirens first, a lone survivor every other week who tried to cross the ocean to get to safe land, alerting the fish that he kept like pets, livestock to feed on like snacks. These brave souls, they ended up being his food, devoured like a gift sent to him by the Keepers of the Sea, and his fish were good little pets, telling him about them in hopes of surviving another day, kept safe from the predator who had found a better meal in their stead.

The last who had made it to his island was nothing but a pile of bones at the bottom of his cave, sometimes washed away by the tide. Only the skulls of his favorites he liked to keep as memoria, beautifully aligned at the edge of the small cave pool, adorned with the most outstanding treasure he had taken from them or their ships, stuck between their useless teeth that wouldn’t be able to do as much as scratch his own skin. They were cute, about everything about humans was cute to him, though, from their dumb little brains to their useless tiny teeth that he liked to trace with his fingers, lacking the sharpness of his own kind, utterly dull and making him wonder how they ate meat in first place.

Eating humans and scouring their treasures, that was what kept him busy most of the days, looking at the many useless things he had caught. The prettiest he liked to keep within reach, in a separate pool in his cave, water spilling into it with every high tide, sparkling beautifully under the light reaching him from the openings he couldn’t access. He liked to lay in there, just as he was now, look at the bracelets and slip his hands through them, some so big they remained stuck only on his upper arms. Rings too big for him to carry or so small he could braid them into his hair, those he liked a lot too. But these little round things, printed with faces of people he didn’t know and reading words he couldn’t understand, he found them useless, would flick them to the far corner of the cave where they could still sparkle prettily without irritating him for cluttering his favorite collection. 

Tail thrashing around a bit, causing little riptides in the shallow water, he looked at a ring, silver in color and little white stones resembling the hues of his tail embedded into it. He liked it - or he would like it more if it actually fit him somewhere, but his fingers were too slim for it and it kept sliding off his hair whenever he tried to braid it in, annoying him immensely despite fascinating him equally. “Stupid thing,” he muttered once more as it, yet again, wouldn’t fit even his thumb, dropped into the salty liquid he was bathing in carelessly. He was bored, lacking entertainment to the point it was agitating him.

Might as well try to expand his hunting grounds a bit, maybe there would be a shark he could battle for entertainment, or taunt some passing dolphin into thinking it could mate him which - laughable! He liked their dicks though, they were cute to play with whenever he was out of his mind, behaving as if they had a life of their own. Some of his most deprived racemates liked to breed other animals, or so he had been told, little stories about how this would feel so good. And if dolphins could, why not them? Right? It made him wish he could harbor the same interest and if only to get some more entertainment into his dull life.

Fingers splayed out across the lithic wall separating one pool from another, he pushed himself forward, until he was tipping forward, tips of his hair meeting the fresh seawater, and with one push of his tail against the jewel decorated ground he heaved himself over. The dive through the underwater canal was quick for him, gills opening in delight at the opportunity to filter oxygen into his bloodstream again in the way he was meant to, not by breathing through his nose and mouth. Swimming in the ocean was freeing, must be what the birds inhabiting his island must feel like when soaring up into the skies, exploring the world from so high above. He didn’t like them, though, they cast ugly shadows on his waters and stole the fish he was feeding on.

Body low to the ground, tail brushing along rocks and corals every once in a while, he circled his island, looking for treasure that could have washed up or looking for signals of any new intruder arriving. Disappointingly, neither sharks nor dolphins were around to keep him entertained, whales made their way through his reefs even more seldomly, utterly disappointing him. Their big bodies fascinated him, were more outstanding than the dolphins who, from tip of the nose to end of the tail, were almost his size. 

Much to his own begrudgement, a human had once told him his upper body size would make him a rather short male, had laughed at him for being so small. He hadn’t laughed for as long when Renjun had torn his tongue out of his mouth, watching how he was choking on his own blood pathetically. It was his tail that added most to his body length, scales in the same pale shade of his hair, fanning out into a widespread fin that he liked to fold into a slimmer version of when relaxing. It was to his advantage during mating, when it spanned such length it couldn’t be overlooked, its deeply sated inner side fading into barely visible white. Two more fins of, adoring his front and back, helping him steer through the water and brushing against the ground underneath whenever he raced or relaxed, watching the anemones and crustaceans underneath, or when he was laying on his back, watching the sun filter through the masses of water, broken into visible rays that made everything shine beautifully bright.

Personally, he liked the sunlight more than the moon because everything was so vivid, albeit the darkness was better fitted for a hunt. His least favorite, though, was rain and the storms, disturbing his living place, whirling upwards the sand on the ground, covering the beautiful colors he so much adored. Right now it was perfect, just the right amount of light to see the colorful Mandarin fish sway around underneath him, the only breed he liked to keep save for their appearance alone. 

Almost he had crossed his entire grounds, devoid of any new streasure swamped his way and about to give up on the success of his day, willing to retreat to his cave in utter grievance of his lack of delight, when a distant sound of water being broken called for his attention. There, far away, was a huge shadow, something akin to a big ship, followed by another smaller one. Not a baby ship, he had been taught already that ships didn’t birth babies because they were inanimate, the same way his gold wouldn’t magically duplicate, but similar to offspring, the smaller ones normally were the more valued ones. 

His lips parted, faint singing echoing through the waves, growing louder the longer he warmed up his throat, until the fish surrounding the ships were already disappearing, knowing about the demise that would befall them if they did not leave in time. Fin spreading out, making use of its size to propel him forwards, he approached the two lairs, could see the little ripples of his own sound waves on the surface, disrupting the sway of waves but not the humans on board. 

The first splash took place before he had even reached there, human blinded enough to try to approach him, air bubbles pathetically leaving his mouth as he tried to get closer and closer, unto he was overcome by panic and stricken by fear. It was too late, pressure of depth too high, squeezing his lungs and filling his airways, until he pitifully drowned. A disgraceful death, befitting of such disgraceful race, and many of which followed only to be dragged away by the bravest of fish, clothing and skin torn apart, red spilling into his waters, no doubt arousing the nearby sharks soon enough that were looking for prey similar to their likes. 

His frontal fin brushed against the wood as he dove underneath the bigger ship, his voice strong enough to make the wood quiver and croak, giving way at its weakest point, and there, right at this point, he didn’t hesitate to pull back his arm to land a punch. Hand penetrating the algae covered underneath easily, hitting cold air that was quickly filling with water at his impact, he curled his fingers around the spiky edge and pushed his whole body down, dragging along the length of the plank that parted from its neighboring parts. Leakage grown, the water rushed in at a way faster pace, weighing down the ship that let out bubbles similar to the humans living on it. 

Sinking a ship of that size would take longer, patience he didn’t possess, as he already pushed forth towards its counterpart. A spear was shot into the water in front of him, elongated shape penetrating its depth with greater ease than those funny little balls, but it wasn’t fast enough, didn’t nearly match the speed it would need to deter him, because humans were adorably weak, so easy to break. Another few followed, the last stubborn bunch of mankind somehow detering his effects and spell. Well, it didn’t matter. Their ship would sink and if not him, then it would be the approaching sharks that would take them down. If not now, if they somehow managed to reach the shore, they would fall for his singing sooner than later, would step into the waters he was swimming in in a foolish attempt to get closer to him. He wasn’t sure they would be luckier or less fortunate if they were pretty - he liked pretty humans, liked their company and the entertainment they brought on, but they, too, would find their demise in his mouth when he ate them alive.

The second boat’s wood was even easier to break, worn down by the sea and thinned out, no amount of protective layer would be enough to protect it from salt and oxidation, and none would ever rival the sheer strength he possessed. His fingers had just let go of the plank torn out when he saw floundering pink, vivid in hues and so many layers, almost as beautiful as his own tail. It caught his interest, had him swim closer, at a much gentler pace, and peeling away at its amount until he was face to face with a young lady. 

Her black hairdo had fallen apart at the impact, eyes delirious as she looked at him, lips parting for a gasp that would only mean her death. Fingers caressing along her cheek, it was a choice he had to make within seconds. But her eyes were pretty and wide, and the fabric she wore he liked, so he didn’t hesitate in wrapping his arm around her miniscule waist to pull her upwards along with him, breaching the surface only to be met with her desperate gasps.

Stubby nails clawing at his shoulders and arms, looking for support in the sea, he had to give it up to her, was minutely impressed. “Jinseok… Jinseok, please! He-” She wailed between coughs, eyes focused on Renjun alone but in the tiniest tremble of her pupils he could see her growing need to find whoever she was looking for. 

Curiosity made the siren stop singing, lasting merely long enough for her to look around, big eyes growing in size when she spotted whoever she was looking for - a man, big and bulky, based on those Renjun had seen before. Someone who would make a nice enough meal, and as another spear was shot their direction, he had already made up his mind. Lips parted to sing again, he dove underwater with the girl delirious with his voice again, getting into a safe distance for long enough to see the ship sink, and most of its occupants drowning. 

The man - the one she had called for - was one of the few lucky ones to survive. Maybe not that lucky, after all, Renjun had already made up his mind to devour him too, eat him first, if only to see her spirits crash and that delightful flicker in his eyes to die out before she would be next. He liked females, their flesh was outstandingly soft, perfect to tear chunks out with his teeth, and those two would surely provide him with food sufficient for some several days.

𝇏𝆴𝆵𝆴𝇏 ❥ )͜͡˒ ⋊

Lacking the entertainment of his human toys, the days were slowly becoming dreary again. The clothes he had made the woman strip - Somin, as he found out throughout their shared time, were draped over a stone, looking beautiful right there, just out of his reach, and saved from the spilling of blood he had made the human go through. As he had thought, the flesh on her thighs had been more than delicious, a light scent of rose on her skin from what must have been that thing they liked to call perfume. He had found some of the scented waters kept in little vials in a box that must have belonged to her, being the only woman on board and all, and he had to say he was impressed. They granted an amiable flavor to his cave, a nice change to metal, salt and blood, albeit he was in love with all of them. 

Resting underneath the moonlight, tail thrashing subtly, he was still gnawing on her upper arm bone, sucking off the last of the meat kept on it while his eyes were trained on their skull. He had placed them on another box he had found in the sea, full of drenched fabric he had dragged out to leave drying, the skulls of the couple placed next to each other, their matching necklace hung from eye socket to eye socket. They were pretty like that, matching and all, just short of how cute they had been when he had yelled in painful agony and she had screamed in utter terror for seeing her love torn apart. Oh, how much he loved these moments. 

He missed them, being all alone now, their little bickering and their beautiful screams while watching first him and then her bleed to death with the wounds he had caused them. Missed them so much, in fact, that he started singing without noticing, gills fluttering against his neck from the vibrations he caused. The sound wasn’t deterred in the least despite his teeth dragging along the ivory bone, reenacting the sound of her screams, translating them into his own tone, pitch high but tender, expressing the love he held for her endearing tortured sound.

A siren’s voice wasn’t transported through their mouths alone, it resonated through their gills and their chest, vibrations so subtle but powerful, enough to make his own back fin stand up, brushing along the low of his back from how upright it was. Steering water despite moving, he could hear it splashing against the edge of the pool, covering the flat stones bordering most of it, the miniscule, barely there steps he liked to lay on during high tide, when there was just enough water to not leave his scales drying out. 

Combined sound of his splashing and singing almost made him miss out on the unfamiliar sound approaching him. Almost, because his hearing was far too superior to not notice it, and interest had him stopping to gnaw on his bone that was already peeled blank. He threw it into the water behind him, heard it hit the surface and sink under, felt the bubbles against his fin, but his attention was rapt on one of the entrances to the cave, light spilling inside from there and the top, hinting at the shadow slowly approaching. A humane shadow, not an animal, and a delighted sound left his lips.

It had been years - no, decades! - since a human had last visited him like this, shipwrecked and deaf, the man back then had been immune to most of his magic, had been lured in by the vibrations penetrating the air and reaching to the width of the island, to end up his meal. But this one, this one was clearly not deaf, steps slowing down when hearing the lack of sound so Renjun put in an effort, hummed lowly, a bare humane sound, not the singing his kind was so famous for. Sufficient to lead the way, to tell the human were to go and approach him, find the center of the cave that was his lair.

At first, the human didn’t seem to notice him, black silk adorning his body in almost the same shade of hair, contradicting pale skin that seemed to be paler than his own when he wasn’t even exposed to the sun as much. He didn’t like it, to feel the heat vaporizing the moisture off his skin. The man was undoubtedly big, and beautiful in build, unfortunately just as stupid as all those before him, distracted by the pretty metal rather than the hunter right in his vicinity. His side profile was pretty, though, so Renjun was willing to forgive him for another moment - no, more than that, he intentionally lowered himself into the water, folding in his back fin so he wouldn’t draw too much attention, so he could watch for a bit more.

It was the wrong move on his side, the sound of water hitting scales seemed to draw the human’s attention who froze, head snapping about and - Renjun whelped. He, honest to the keepers of the ocean, whelped. Out of his reach, so close but so far away, was undoubtedly he prettiest man he had seen in a long time. Eyes dark and alluring, looking innocent with the slightest downwards slant were the first thing he noticed, not quivering with fear like each of his prey had before, not wide with fright as he was so used to, and neither delirious as everyone was from his singing. Their expression was honest, raw, so unfiltered and earnest in a way he hadn’t seen them in a long time. 

The last time he had might as well be when it had been mating season, when he had been surrounded by his own kind, their unique color and tales. As a kid he had been told they all were unique, that if not their tails then their colors, and if not their colors then their tales, making it a matter of impossibility to be the same. Gauging his beauty when around his own kind was easy, their amazed eyes tracing after his tail in the same way he did with some of them, lured in by color and lushness, there was always something they could all be attracted to. It was harder with humans who were terrified of him, or bewitched by his spell, and it was different to this very specimen right in front of him.

“Come here,” he beckoned, crooking a finger at the human while fanning out his backfin all the same, fluttering its translucent fabric through the air, enticing the male further. The closer he got, the more details Renjun could make out, like the strongly built nose and the veins pulsing deliciously beneath pale skin, revealed on his arms that were so thick, speaking of hard labor and tight muscle, delighting enough to make him salivate. 

When the man was close enough, dark leather meeting the water he was laying in, he could make out less details, the angle uncomfortable on his neck. Hand shooting forth, he grabbed the intruder’s ankle, pulled it towards him in a rash movement to make the man stumble and fall, be closer to his level. A barely there sound escaped him, but it wasn’t what Renjun cared about, was the lack of fear he was fascinated with even when the man was staring at his admirable collection of skulls, decorated with golden chains and rings, needles with attachments he had rammed through the bone to make them stick. 

Up close, he could hear the human’s thrumming heartbeat, heavy and fast, beating so enticingly, just for him. Hand still around the man’s ankle, webbing translucent and granting a prettier sheen to the dark material, he placed his other further up, between the pretty one’s thighs so he could heave himself up. There was no reaction, dark eyes focused on the skulls still, taking in the sheer amount of, what must be close to a few hundred now, always pushed back, replaced by a new one, toppled over and never losing their ornament regardless. 

Being ignored was not a feeling Renjun enjoyed, eyebrows frowning lightly as he allowed the human to look for another second only. He wanted attention - wanted this man’s attention, and he was eager to get it. He snapped forward, teeth dragging against skin, smooth beneath his lips where he felt the little bulging of his scratches, hitting bone, the edge of the jaw, and he finally let go. Scarlet red was oozing from where he had bitten too hard, was coloring his lips and distracting him for that short second. Despite that, it had worked, had drawn the attention of the human who yelped in surprise and shock, scooting back, or trying too, with one foot seeking hold on the wet ground whilst the other was still trapped in the merman’s hand.

“You taste nic-” Renjun started, only to stop immediately, distinct flavor on his tongue he could never possibly mistake, had his eyes widen in surprise for a moment. A short second, it was enough, for he found pain exploding in his face right after, blossoming from high on his cheek and his temple all throughout his face, so unexpected it had him wailing as he threw himself backwards, into the water that was so soothing around his wound. There was bruising building already, the side of his face pulsing with pain, he couldn’t even open his eyes.

Years must have passed since a prey had last evaded him, tried to resist, and it had his blood boiling in his veins. Without thinking, he parted his lips, letting out a siren’s scream so loud it had the gold falling off its piles, had the walls of the cave shaking, debris falling down, little stones loosened. There was a crack, then another, skulls that had splintered from the impact of his scream, and there was a thump, heavy weight falling to the ground. Another drawn out note, vibrating through the air, echoing into the far distance where it must be heard by his away neighbors, alarming or satisfying them, he couldn’t tell, didn’t care. All he wanted was the human who had dared fight him off. 

𝇏𝆴𝆵𝆴𝇏 ❥ )͜͡˒ ⋊

Unconscious, the human was even easier to observe than when he was awake, and he most definitely did not try to land another hit to Renjun’s face like that. The siren was still upset about that, rubbing along his cheek self-consciously. It would take days - days! - for the swelling to go down and the bruising to fade, something he wasn’t happy about at all. Perhaps he wasn’t as vain as others of his kind could be, it didn’t mean he was happy about going around his days with a purple eye simply because one single human had gotten the better of him. 

A pretty human, as he once more assessed, looking at the man out of his reach. Even if he tried to heave himself out of the water to get his hands on the man and drag him closer, it would mean his own vulnerability, just out of his reach. Already had he moved closer, his tail laying in the low of the water whilst his human part was out on the dry, allowing him to look at the stranger who had slumped down. 

There were faint trickles of blood, coming out of the guy’s ears from where his own scream must have burst the drums, and another line on the forehead, head having hit the lithic ground with more force than Renjun had anticipated. His kind knew better than humans, they didn’t fight sea monsters stronger than them, survival instincts keeping them out of dangerous fights, only making him pity those walking figures more. Who in their right mind would challenge a creature so evidently having led their own kind into death? It was nonsensical, nothing but plain stupid, and now the siren found himself faced with the realization that he had anticipated more of that human.

A man so bravely walking into a siren’s lair, seeking out treasure, he might have escaped. For once, Renjun might have been a bit more lenient, but all of that was eradicated now when he had to realize that this human wasn’t anything of what he had expected. Utter idiocy, that’s what the stranger’s kind pursued, blinded by greed and naivety, there really was nothing else the lavender haired could do than pity them.

Nevertheless, there he was, wanting to reach out and brush back strands of solid black, test whether they felt as smooth as they looked which already was a challenge with his crisp the sea seemed to make every person’s hair. To him it was nice flavoring, salt seeping into flesh, accepted by the skin, adding a nice touch to the savory taste. Distantly in his mind he also wondered how that human sounded, whether his voice would befit his looks or not, and if it didn’t, it would be a heart wrenching disappointment indeed.

Underneath the moonlight the intruder had possessed an eerie hue of contrast, dark hair, pale skin, black clothes, emphasized by the white light. More time had passed than Renjun had noticed, just eyeing the knocked out person breathing, dreamless rest, and the golden light of the morning sun, reflected this way and that into his cave, granted the man a more living look. There were faint golden undertones to his skin, cheeks looking softer, lips a beautiful shade that reminded him of the scented waters he had found, as if they should belong together. A striking contrast to the red streaks he himself had left, adorning a defined jaw and the throat beneath, tissue slightly torn and swollen so clearly. Almost Renjun felt sorry about that - almost, because he didn’t feel pity with his prey, unreachable as it might be.

The sun had reached its peak by the time hunger had lured him out of his cave, human not having made any signs of waking up for _hours_ , and all his admiration for pretty things aside, he was growing tired of waiting. His nice looking thing wasn’t even awake to keep him entertained, neither was he a meal he could devour to bridge the hours, so hunting for fish it was. For the time being, it would keep him busy, chase after fish that weren’t nearly as fast as him but without his fins spread out, he was giving them some sort of advantage. Some of them, the colorful ones he liked so much, sometimes dared play around with him, in the same way as dolphins did, outright sociable and what he might dare call a friend on his brightest spirited days.

Bad luck must be following him, making him consider whether he had done anything to upset the Keepers of the Sea, the deities keeping them safe, blessing them with fortune or cursing them with the opposite if they dared insult them. Pollute the waters, slaughter those that didn’t need to be slaughtered, kill another of their kind - there were plenty ways to oppose them, none of which Renjun could remember having gone through with. Nevertheless there he was, fish out of his sight, hiding from something, hidden in their caves and alcoves, not painting his grounds in wonderful hues of all sorts of colors.  
From someone, as he realized a bit later, felt the unfamiliar stream of water caress along his fins, teasing them until they were all fanned out, taking up so much space there was an evident shadow cast upon the ground above which he was floating. No steep sun rays could prevent that due to his sheer size, fins spreading out further than his arms could reach, keeping him in place as he waited for whoever it was to breach his borders.

Glittering red, blaring signal of warning, it was visible from the distance already, body shooting sharply through the water, leaving a trail of bubbles in its wake. Like that, it made sense that Yuta’s favorite were the Mantis shrimp, colored so similarly to his own tail, their ruby red shell interlaced with inky shadows, glinting almost golden in the sunlight. Ruby, because that’s what he had been told the useless red stones he owned were called by his prey, a color that didn’t entice him nearly enough albeit it looked quite pretty on Yuta. Decades ago he had reasoned it had to do with the interlacing of the colors, sand colored skin glowing golden, mixing into the reflection of the scales repeated in the hair, dark roots and vibrant strands. There was a mix into it that was enticing, one that lured people in which, understandably, was the very reason a siren existed.

His older friend almost shot past him at the speed he was going, coming to an abrupt halt, bubbles bursting, prickling uncomfortably against Renjun’s skin who had remained in his position since. His eyes slimmed, taking in the other’s flawless appearance, entirely at ease when his pale fins were trembling in agitation. Friend or not, Yuta had intruded on his hunting grounds without warning, and now that it was the second time it had happened within such short span, he was slowly getting annoyed.

“What are you doing here?” He snapped, fins demanding space he was not granted, agility given to them within water that couldn’t be imitated, so many angles they could explore, and it was his own misfortune his upper half was free to touch. And touch Yuta did, warm hands cradling his jaw, twisting his head lightly to the side, and Renjun had to realize it was his bruising that was revealed. An annoyance, it was enough to make his teeth pull out, snapping for those same bothersome limbs. The human in his cave would have lost his for certain. “Don’t touch.”

“You’re injured.” Yuta should definitely receive the title of Captain Obvious. “You’re never injured,” the redhead continued, head tilting with interest whereas the younger just scowled. “Your _wail_ was audible to my island, Jun-chan. So? What happened?”

There was no judgement in his tone, only plain intrigue, and that made Renjun more bothered than any other emotion could have. At least if he had been mocked, he could have retaliated with a punch, or played the pity card if he was presented with the chance of having a red knight. Instead, he felt guilt well up within him about lying to someone who had come by simply to check up on him, to find out whether he was doing okay. “I’ve stubbed my tail.”

Burning hot, churning his insides, it made him feel sick, and Yuta had merely raised an eyebrow in question. Pierced with a golden metal hoop that made the younger wonder how it had even gotten there, had never seen such a thing on anyone but the siren in front, intriguing and fascinating, like everything else surrounding this mystery of a male. “You’ve stubbed your tail?” The redhead repeated, golden eyes traveling down to the span of Renjun’s fins spread out, not the slightest hint of a tear visible albeit it wouldn’t be impossible. “And that’s why you have a black eye?”

“I-” Renjun started, halting when he didn’t know what to answer for another moment. Certainly he wasn’t about to give away he had been hit by a human, it didn’t fit the prideful and strong image he wanted to convey, much less did he want to admit that he was keeping that very human in his cave instead of asking for equality. A life in exchange for his beauty would seem very much fitting in that case. “Fought with a mantis…” He forced out eventually, shame curling up his nape, coloring his skin red in a hue not too different from that beautiful ruby tail. 

“Fought with a mantis?” Yuta repeated once again, making the younger grow irritated with the endless echo of his own words. But nothing more followed, the older seemed to consider those same words for a few moments to reach his own conclusion, brows furrowed lightly. Handsomely thick and full, unless his own slimmer ones. “I see…”

The older sighed, a heavy sound that resonated through the waves with ease, speaking against his social exhaustion was the turn of his head, looking into the far off distance, the open ocean none of them liked to cross unnecessarily, the comfort of their islands more welcome. “The humans are coming up with new weapons to use against us, Jun-chan. Promise me you’ll be careful, yes?”

Heavily Renjun swallowed, his tongue traced his lips minutely but he nodded his head regardless. “Promise,” he whispered before he tried with a grin, curving his eyes forcefully to seem more joyful. “Wouldn’t want to miss out on our next encounter.” 

Yuta’s laughter and the cocked eyebrow gave away he very well understood the insinuation when they only ever met during mating season. Or that’s how it had been supposed to be, before he had shown up at Renjun’s island just like that, visit triggered by nothing more than a _wail_ and here they were, chatting as if it mattered, as if they were that close. But as far as siren terms went, they actually were close, spent time talking every meeting day, catching up and sometimes exchanging presents, when Renjun found another of these thin hoops Yuta liked so much, or when Yuta found a white stone embedded into silver. Exchanging treasure was a rare occurrence, only between the closest of people, sometimes considered a mating gift. It could be, if they weren’t incompatible, their colors giving it away, their genders hinting at it, their interest in humans too blatant. 

“Take care for me,” Yuta requested after a few moments of silence, tail wagging lightly to move him backwards, away from Renjun. “And,” he started, winking obnoxiously, “don’t fight with a _mantis_ again.”

The younger wanted to punch him, so much, so hard. His fins flared in a threat, their difference in strength he would be able to make up with agility if it weren’t for his luxurious tail. He was made to be looked at and admired, not one for fighting as Yuta was. Yuta, who was already trailing away, whilst shame still sat heavy within Renjun’s stomach.

“Yuta?” He ended up calling out, watching red scales reflect the sunlight golden, ruby drowning out ink, making the tail look brighter than it was. “Thank you for checking on me.” Renjun would need to get him some big rubies for the next season to make up for the long travel, even though his words were simply waved off.

𝇏𝆴𝆵𝆴𝇏 ❥ )͜͡˒ ⋊

Renjun had had enough politeness remain in his bones to finish eating before he went back into his cave, carcasses floating through the water to be eaten by some crab or whatever, it didn’t bother him as much as one might think albeit it were his own grounds. Watching it float away, he looked at it for another moment before he dove further down, into the waterway hidden from any reckless human, passage broad enough for his fins to not scrape against it but too dark for any being used to sunlight to see. It’s how he liked it, though, how most of his kind liked it, actually. 

The dive was a short one for him, approaching the light within his lair quick enough where he approached the edge of the pool first, right to the spot he had been watching the man from. He must have not missed much and yet enough, the human was conscious again, not disturbed by the sound of water moving, something that could be faulted on the damaged ears as well. But it allowed Renjun to come out of the water again, before he was noticed, in time to see the intruder sit up and try to stand, stumbling and slumping before he had accomplished such. Swaying in his attempt, the man was falling down once more, muscles quivering and black hair moving as he tried to shake off the dizziness apparently.

“You should stay down,” the siren interrupted, startling the man who was clambering to his side, away from Renjun at the sound of the latter’s voice. Blinking, eyes feeling more dry now that he was no longer in the water, the creature watched the legged one for another moment, heaving himself half out of the water simultaneously. “I think you hit your head when falling down. And your ears are damaged, so you’ll find trouble balancing for a few days, I think.” At least that’s what he had heard about human physiology before, nothing he could attest to when his own ears had always worked perfectly fine, more resilient than their kind’s, used to high pressure from staying at the low of the sea.

The human snorted, not really an attractive sound, more of the kind that had Renjun wrinkle his nose since it didn’t fit the pretty appearance. “And get killed like _them_?” Head tilting to the side - an action immediately regretted, if the following groan was anything to go by - the intruder hinted at the many skulls lying about.

“I won’t kill you…” Renjun muttered, moving out of the water enough so he could sit on his side on the stones, careful not to squash his front and back fins as he splayed them out instead, caressing along the almost translucent but so sturdy tissue.

“How would I know?” The human snapped back, brows furrowed, further away after the siren had moved out of the water. Already the older regretted the same, he hadn’t meant to scare the human off but staying in his pool when the same could so easily roam around his lair was making him uncomfortable.

“You think if I wanted to, I wouldn’t already have?” The lavender haired huffed, shaking some water off his webbing, along with a tiny fish that had been caught in his folded fins. “Trust me, you look like you’re plenty tasty. All beautiful humans are. But I won’t do it.”

That one, at last, seemed to have caught the man’s attention, hand going up to the scratches from teeth along his swollen jaw, and swollen it was indeed by now, way more than earlier in the day. “You won’t… Why? I have no reason to trust you.”

“You _kicked_ me!” Renjun cried out accusingly, pointing one finger at the human, good as he could. The bruising hurt, overstraining his jaw pulled on his skin, reminded him of his injury. “But you’re still here and breathing. I even told you you hit your head so what reason do you have to not trust me? Kicking my face should have been enough reason to tear you apart!”

“Which... you didn’t,” the man repeated again, echoing each of the siren’s statements, annoying the creature to the point Renjun was already flashing his teeth. The real deal, not the retracted version that prevented him from biting his own lips or whatever, there was one sharp bone against another, bared in a gesture of threat which seemed to work, for the human recoiled a bit. At least he didn’t try to move back again, and slip on the skulls or whatever. “Why?”

Stupid question, stupid human, stupid himself for not having ended the man when he had the chance to, Renjun cursed inside, snarling once more at the stranger before he turned away, sliding back into the pool again. “Because.” He didn’t want to explain, it wasn’t like the human would understand anyways. “You should stay for a few days. Until you can think well again. Going out after hitting your head is stupid, and you surely don’t know your way around these waters or you would’ve known better. Stupid turritella sized brain, you’ll just end up in the next siren’s lair and _they_ won’t be as kind as me.” He glowered, frowning at the human some more before his body was inside the water up until the shoulders, where he had more space to spread out his fins. “At least have some common courtesy and introduce yourself, you stupid pretty thing.”

𝇏𝆴𝆵𝆴𝇏 ❥ )͜͡˒ ⋊

Jeno had grown up an orphan, or so he had said, without parents or relatives to take care of him. Renjun had found that one amusing, after all, siren mating was nothing more than having fun fucking but then planting eggs into caves which the parents hoped wouldn’t be eaten. The freshly hatched kids usually stayed together for a bit longer, until the urge to find their own home was big enough to leave. Nobody knew who they were related to, colors and fin shapes only did so much to distinguish your own family, but one was able to make friends. Like Renjun and Yuta. 

The singular kid had done the same - or been lucky enough to find someone covering that task for him. Lee Taeyong, a pirate with a too soft heart, had made it a habit of his to collect orphans, one addition after another until his captain kicked him off the ship. Buying his own with stolen and stored treasure, founding a crew whose core members were family, they had built their own little group. 

Lee Taeyong himself, now known in their vicinity as vicious, kind to those who deserved it but ruthless towards other pirates and opposing the ruling forces all the more. Minhyung and Donghyuck, who had been taken in before Jeno, who supported their captain without fault. There were other members too, too many for Renjun to remember while merely listening, but one name kept showing up. Some guy named Jaemin, the captain’s blood-related cousin or whatever, someone who felt more like a brother to Jeno than those who were so in name. A bond like this, to Renjun it was endearing, but it was even more fun to hear about it. 

Pirates, the siren also learned, were not much unlike him, to the point he had - in all seriousness, because it had interested him - asked whether his kind were underwater pirates then. Jeno hadn’t had an answer for that but the point was made, their similarities were many. Sinking ships and stealing treasure, ruthless in the way they pursued whoever offended them, no real ties to any place but connections nonetheless, and caves full of treasure which no one was able to find but those who had marked them. Renjun was kind of in love with that idea, pleased by the thought he had a similarity to the pretty thing that maybe was not quite gifted with a brain of a turritella. Maybe it deserved to be called the size of a murex. 

Only a few nights ago, Jeno told him, they had stopped in a harbor that wasn’t quite known for his amiability, visited by pirates more than anyone else, a place to get drunk and fuck around. Somehow it was made out to sound like the siren mating seasons, just more regular, a place to frequent whenever, not only when water temperatures and currents were in their favor and not washing the eggs away. And it had been at that same harbor they had been told about the many siren lairs nearby, the complex of smaller islands that were spread out enough so one of them wouldn’t tear the other apart over basic needs and hunting grounds, a perfect mixture of proximity and distance indeed. 

Those islands, to the humans who knew better, shredded in mystery because no one survived long enough to tell stories about them for real, were a welcome place to discover treasure. Kill the siren, claim their gold, and their carcasses would be worth even more than all the rich they could harbor. Naivety - it had sent one too many their way, but it wasn’t like Renjun or his kind would complain when it meant free food, those pirates blinded by greed or those who chose the more dangerous route to evade being caught by these illegals only to sail into demise on their own. The same emotion that had spurred Jeno on to come here, find Renjun and steal his goods as if they didn’t mean anything to the tailed. 

“So you’re saying,” the older tried to summarize, head crooked where it was resting on his moist arms, “that you willingly stepped into a monster’s trap because you - what? Wanted to impress your father? Wanted to make a name of your own?” He grabbed one of the nearby coins, gold that had fallen off its pile because of his _wail_ the previous night, to fling it at Jeno as if it were an appropriate form of punishment. “Are you a stone or something?”

The human flinched lightly, and Renjun ignored the way it tugged at his heart. The tale he had just heard had been different, out of the hundred and some people he had devoured so far, no one had actually bothered to talk about their lives. Sure, they had told him about the life on land, about their society and how they liked to group up because humans were too weak of their own, how humans waged war against humans, idiotic stories of love and the useless actions that followed, whatever they thought would buy them another day of being alove. Ironically, they had been so focused on entertaining him that they had ended up boring him, feeding into their own ruin.

Even if he were able to eat Jeno, he wouldn’t do it like this, not when the stories he could hear were so real, spoken honestly and without restraint. This was just the human baring his heart, not out of hopes of surviving because Renjun had already given a promise, maybe because he was still delirious from his head injury too. Concussion, as the walkers named it.

“I don’t know,” Jeno snapped back, but not with nearly as much bite as the siren would garner on his best days. Picking up the coin and fiddling with it, flipping it over the back of his fingers in a skilled manner that had Renjun’s body heat up in odd mannerisms, tail flipping around a bit, carding through the water. “I don’t know, alright? I just- I don’t know… Taeyong always tells me not to do this or that but it’s okay when Minhyung or Donghyuck go with Youngho, or when Jaemin is with Jaehyun. But Dongyoung is too busy to do that with me so I just… tried…”

Silently Renjun watched, took in the sight of the human who was no longer afraid of him. Certainly Jeno flinched with every faster movement he did, or when he did stuff like throw treasure around carelessly, but there was more ease to the other’s expressions and words now, tongue loose and shoulders sagging. Calmly, because he really thought it was a solution, the siren proposed, “I just kill whoever bothers me. Saves me the trouble of angering monsters.”

Plain incredulity painted the younger’s face at that, eyebrows furrowed lightly as if that were response enough. It wasn’t, not to Renjun, who slowly pushed his lips into a pout and asked, “What?”

“That’s not how you resolve matters!” Jeno protested, weakly and soft-spoken, a pain in his tone as if the idea of injuring his so-called family actually ached him. Which was so illogical, humans were so illogical, they were going around killing each other because they didn’t like another group of people but then they refused to get rid of them who actually hurt them. It made no sense.

“It makes no sense,” Renjun said aloud, eyebrows furrowed lightly as he watched his guest. At the point he would actually call Jeno a guest, no longer an intruder because he wasn’t one to talk to intruders, albeit calling a human who was supposed to be food a guest also seemed weird. He couldn’t help it, it was as if he was addicted to Jeno’s thoughts already, someone who was so vastly different from his prior prey and yet the same, the same tiny useless brain they all possessed. “You just said you killed that guy who broke your whoever’s arm! But you won’t kill someone who actually bothers you?”

Gums aching faintly, the siren hadn’t noticed his teeth coming out until catching onto the human’s dark eyes, focused on his mouth, the light snarl Renjun wore. “You don’t have family, do you?” Jeno asked without answering, much to the cave owner’s dismay who pulled back his teeth some more in a disfavored expression. “I guess not then…”

Which wasn’t wrong, the most family Renjun had were the sirens from the surrounding lairs, and most the time he wanted to tear their heads off their bodies, if he wasn’t caught in the heat of mating, all logic overwritten by a basic instinct to mate and make sure at least one more siren would make it out of the batch. Yuta or Kun or Sicheng, sometimes even that pest Yukhei, if he didn’t feel an urge to slaughter them despite triggering the Keepers of the Sea’s wrath, he might as well call them friends or something at that point. He didn’t, simply because he could easily do without them, entertained by his livestock instead.

“You don’t just kill _family_ ,” Jeno explained softly, head lowered to watch over the still moving coin, only to flip it up with his thumb and catch it with one hand, slapping it to the back of the other so the metal thing was laying on the back of it. Whatever he thought to see on it, Renjun couldn’t tell. Humans were weird. “Blood runs thicker than water. That’s what we say. You can’t just get rid of them when, if worst comes to worst, they are the only support you have.”

Carefully the siren tried to process these words, make sense of them while flicking his tail around. “But you’re not related by blood…” He mumbled, tongue tracing along his revealed teeth, feeling their sharp edge whilst his eyes were trained on Jeno’s face.

Maybe he had said the wrong thing, for the human’s expression shut off, no emotion in his expressionless eyes, only a little grunting sound. Without another word, the guest turned onto his side, back to Renjun, figure tense until it wasn’t, breathing more shallow, and even the tailed could tell it was in favor of sleeping this conversation off. 

𝇏𝆴𝆵𝆴𝇏 ❥ )͜͡˒ ⋊

Sleep, to Renjun, wasn’t the same as it would possibly be to Jeno, wasn’t a time his body shut down entirely until he was oblivious to his surroundings - which the other was for certain. To his kind, it was merely a state of physical rest, metabolism lowered, energy running on the lowest possible rate without killing him off. Since Jeno was around, he had made it a habit to stay within the low waters of the flat stones, curling up on his side, ears attentive to find any possible threat that might come to him despite being within a well closed off cave. Not many intruders would dare find their way inside, but Jeno had not been included into this kind of calculation.

Not noticing how the younger was leaving was a matter of impossibility to Renjun, who still noticed every sound, the steps that echoed within lithic confinements, telling him the human was slowly getting away from him. There were needs the human had that were so different to his own, seeking water and food, doing whatever would cause the greenery overgrowing his island to rustle. It wasn’t the first time Jeno was leaving him behind like this, except the stories of other sirens might have scared off the human enough to not try escaping just yet. If he tried… Well, he might not be able to eat this particular man, but the dark haired wasn’t immune to his singing, it wouldn’t take more than some tunes to make him return like a blind fish, lured in by sound only.

Allowing time to pass was all too easy when he was like this, the ongoing minutes given away to him by the level of humidity in the air. It was always most comfortable around midnight, when the moon was hitting its peak and there was this slightly clammy humidity as contrasting to the sun and the oppressing warmth in the air. They were about to hit the exact medium when he heard those same steps return, intentionally quiet despite the leather soles hitting ground rather roughly, weight that couldn’t be hidden falling into them. Things cluttered to the ground as they were put down but the heavier frame didn’t follow, there were more steps instead, coming closer, approaching him, making the water splash lightly, little ripples easily perceived by Renjun’s sensible scales.

It didn’t end there, was followed by a certain change in the air that came from proximity to another being, clothed knee that nudged into his back lightly and breath he could ever so faintly feel passing against his arm. Jeno didn’t stop there, wasn’t held off by just looking, and the first touch to Renjun’s spine almost had the siren giving up on rest, focus on the human entirely rather than keeping his body relaxed for good. Fingers that brushed along the low of his back, so different to the sensation of another siren when all their skin was usually so slick, lacking dryness when they met under water. But Jeno’s fingers were, dry and a bit rough at the tips, texture of skin that wasn’t like a water creature’s, not like the tender skin of thighs which he liked to eat so much.

The sensation changed a bit, somewhat duller when his body was protected by scales, a thousand of them decorating his lower body, ranging in size between human nail sized or the diameter of his own thumb, fingers splaying out along what must be a human’s behind. No webbing connected them, meaning Renjun was overly aware of each digit, no heat accumulated underneath the finer tissue, warming up his scales, was only empty space for air between skin clad bones. 

His own curled around the edge of stone to calm himself, keep his breathing steady, gills moving at the same rhythm when they sucked in the air he so desperately needed to survive. Now more than ever, he felt it was the only thing keeping him alive, when the touch on his spine was so distracting, at the part his backbone was slowly changing, adjusting to the change in muscle. Below his hips, except for the fine bones sustaining his fins, everything was muscle and cartilage only, allowing him to move his body freely so he could move through the water with ease, muscles almost as sturdy as the bones they replaced, propelling him through the sea with ease.

Despite his mind being so attentive, his body was still relaxed, muscles not working his fin spines, so when he felt those same curious hands drive along the length of the leathery tissue, halfway down his tail, Renjun didn’t have it in him to protest. Bones lying almost flat, they were easily pulled upwards when the human directed them, spreading out his fin as much as he could when not able to move the entirety of with just one hand. This time around, feeling warm digits trace along the bone, smoothing out his leathery skin, Renjun couldn’t hold back. A moan escaped him without noticing, the touch so tender yet it had his entire body heating up, signs of arousal he wouldn’t be able to hide if he so dared turn around, nothing his frontal fin would be able to cover up either. 

It didn’t seem like he needed to, Jeno pulled back all of his own, floundering away, and the siren used that same chance to roll into the water, concealing his exposed manhood that had started to reveal itself in interest already. His breathing was heavier now that he didn’t need to act anymore, gills moving in hectic flutters, but no possible embarrassment was enough to make him swim away further, lower arms resting on the lower end of the pool, keeping him up albeit the fins on his arms were fluttering in protest. They, just like the rest of his body, gave away how much he was craving for more, this kind of sensuality he hadn’t experienced before, not been allowed to when his prey had been too afraid to touch him and siren intercourse was nothing like this.

Jeno’s eyes were big from where they stared at him, face flushed red and contrasting dark hair so beautifully. Teeth digging into flesh, the human’s lips came out swollen, calling forth Renjun’s attention again, fascinated by their deep red, beautiful tone of ruddy coral that made him want to taste them, taste more than warm blood and ocean kissed skin. Whether it was instinct or greed, the kind he always had thought humans to be so stupid for possessing, he heaved himself out of the water carefully, slowly, not wanting to scare Jeno aware, nor wanting to reveal just how affected he was by this, his scaled lower body meticulously kept below the line of stones as he tilted forward, own lips parted lightly, an open invitation.

There was hesitation in the human’s expression, pupils blown wide, trembling slightly. At this point, it took little more for Renjun than parting one hand from the ground, reaching out to Jeno who moved in tandem. Meeting halfway, webbed fingers lacing into silky strands, touching dry skin, the siren pulled his guest the last bit forward, allowing hot air of shaky breathing to ghost against his lips before this bit was breached too, mouth meeting with hunger the tailed never thought to have known, more intense than the mind numbing desire for food. This was different, this was more, and now his greed couldn’t be satiated by anything other than Jeno in his arms.

Their kiss was a mess, mouths moving without rhythm and sense, a clash of forces that could no longer be withheld. Renjun wanted to devour him, wanted to take all of Jeno without taking him in, wanted to taste his every essence, of lips and skin, of hands on his body and exploring its match, wanted to know all these things he had never considered, had never thought possible, nevertheless it was what he craved. For Jeno was addicting, a might out of control, a force he couldn’t handle, didn’t know how to bend and mold when all of his mind was clouded by alluring scent.

He moaned into their kiss, tried to get closer, shame abandoned as he heaved himself out of the water, sensed the human approaching until there were arms wrapped around his skin, the splashing of knees hitting water, closer to him, holding him up. His tail wagged under the water, kept him afloat to support what Jeno couldn’t carry, webbed fingers splayed across a tensing thigh, muscles hard underneath his touch and yet so soft compared to his own. The fabric of clothes was bothersome, wasn’t what he knew but it was spurning him on, made him desire to feel more, sense bare skin against his own, body melting into the siren’s frame, until there wasn’t a the slightest bit of space left between them at all.

Foreign tongue prodding against his mouth, Renjun couldn’t help part his lips, welcoming Jeno in, allowing the human to claim him as if he were the prey, ready to submit to a being below him, weaker and naive, but enticing all the same. Perhaps more even, pulling him in like no siren had before, owning charms not imitated by shining scales and fluttering tails, touch gentle from lacking strength and making him yearn for more again and again.

Contact between them broke abruptly, disturbed by Jeno hissing in slight pain, lip split where it had scraped along Renjun’s teeth who hesitated at once. Only the flicker within the human’s eyes didn’t die down whose breathing was labored, strained from the lack of oxygen when his mouth was kept busy with all but breathing, an advantage the siren had earned. Filtering air through his gills not his lips didn’t leave him feeling strained, chest heaving for a different reason, trembling when he noticed the human hadn’t pulled back by then.

Desire was brimming within his body still, fins fluttering as he waited another moment for rejection that didn’t come, and Renjun allowed his feelings to consume him again. Angling his head, he allowed his lips to trace the edge of the younger’s jaw, along the skin he himself had bruised, placing a tender kiss on the swollen flesh before he moved lower still, until he could place trembling caresses of his mouth to Jeno’s throat. Adam’s apple bobbing beneath his lips, he licked over it shortly, tasted the salt of sweat and sea, a taste so familiar and foreign still, had him craving for more. 

On this day, he didn’t dream of gorgin upon human flesh, just wanted the flavor of skin, know what was Jeno’s taste, what would get the heart stuttering which he could hear racing within the silence of the cave. Short gasps and rushing blood, it was all Renjun could perceive as he allowed his lips to travel lower still, not stopped by clothing or anything else, desire ever consuming, driving him insane.

He wasn’t sure what he would have done, how far he would have gone, were it not for such humane sound, must be barely audible to Jeno but was ever so notable to him. Low grumble of the stomach, he was familiar with it from all his prey, and it was enough to finally startle him enough to pull back the slightest bit, body lowering to hide his scaled half. Not blood but unadulterated greed flowed through his veins, had his temperature skyrocketing, going for a flight instead of a dive. Mind fuzzy from kisses alone, he could barely phrase a word as he looked at Jeno’s dazed face, all pretty with kiss swollen lips and flushed cheeks, hair mussed, strands sticking this way and that.

“You’re so beautiful,” Renjun whispered, tilted his head up for another short peck before he pulled back for good, lowering his body back into the water until only his shoulders and up remained. Lower arms on the stones, fins spread out in attention, he gazed up, sucked his lips into his mouth without missing the way Jeno followed his sight. It made him smile more, trying to hide it but the human was too sweet, a touch of delicate delight he had never experienced prior. He was addicted, didn’t want to let go, and it was because he wanted to keep it that he had to look out, hiding his heated face in his arms whilst pointing a finger to the back of the cave. “Go eat, Jeno… You’ll need your strength…”

𝇏𝆴𝆵𝆴𝇏 ❥ )͜͡˒ ⋊

It had been a long time since Renjun had last been out on the beach, more used to stay within the safety of his cave or hunting through the reefs, but there weren’t many things he wouldn’t do for Jeno now if only he asked. How much could change within a few days was crazy, something the siren liked to fault on their close proximity, spending hours at a time together within the generous but limited space of his cave did such a thing. And their kiss the night before also didn’t help him gather his wits, all the less when there had been another this morning, shorter and more sweet, more of a greeting than action filled with desire, but it had warmed Renjun nonetheless. 

In a different manner to the sun shining onto his back from where he laid half stranded on the beach, upper body resting on a stone so he wouldn’t risk squashing his fins for a prolonged duration of time. When Jeno had proposed going to the beach earlier, he hadn’t understood exactly why, it wasn’t appealing to him, only made him feel like a trapped whale, or as if he were related to seals and not fish. Now that he was around, he definitely got the gist of it.

Battling the sun, Jeno had taken off his shirt, revealing a similar amount of humane skin as Renjun did, which he considered put them on the same level. The human’s body was quite different to his own, though, contrasting appearances that made it all the more intriguing. Where Renjun’s body was slender and streamlined, perfectly equipped for shooting through the waters, Jeno was broad, with wide shoulders and narrow waist, arms that might be thrice the size of Renjun’s own but carried less than a third of the siren’s strength. Because the creature was the stronger one, not someone to shy away from confrontation either, and yet it was the walker’s body that was so clearly defined, muscles lined and shaped, speaking of strength appealing to his kind. Because that was the gist of it, getting the strongest competitor for a suitable male, wasn’t it? Which was utterly ironic, considering Jeno didn’t belong to Renjun’s kind per se. Not to mention the lacking nature of mating interest, be it to their favor or dismay, that was something only time could prove.

For someone who normally got easily bored with having nothing much to do, Renjun found himself surprisingly entertained by just watching the human move about, pale skin glistening under the sun in such beautiful way, making him splash his tail in excitement. After some time spent together on the beach already, Jeno was used to the sound, didn’t bother for long with it when he could just go on doing whatever he was doing. There was a small pile of wood accumulated on the beach, and some branches the younger had rubbed against stone, until they were pointy and sharp. Any other person and the siren would be throwing a stone to knock them out, lest they get the idea to injure him or something.

The sight was curious, all these set up things so foreign to him because he had never gotten a chance to observe a human in its _natural habitat_. There were many things he wasn’t familiar with, things no one had bothered explain to him the way Jeno had, like the way they dyed clothes or what they represented, had pointed at something called _medal_ and said it belonged to a certain kind of warrior. Rings that represented status, clothes that told about wealth, the use of these scented waters he hadn’t known before. There was so much he could learn from his pretty thing, more than just where their most delicious flesh was located.

“Renjun,” Jeno called out, a little spark in his eyes that had the siren’s back fin shudder in anticipation. It wasn’t heat nor desire, it was the cozy warmth of willingness to go along with what was asked of him, the same way whenever the human asked about their lifestyle under water, whether they could actually talk with fish, or when he had looked at a ring which Renjun had promptly told him to keep him afterwards. He felt himself unable to deny Jeno’s pretty eyes anything, most especially so with how every request seemed so awfully innocent too. “Could you maybe catch me some fish?”

A bit, hidden against the sun, the creature raised his eyebrows but he complied, pushing himself off the stone and moving clumsily to a water depth at which he could swim freely, he was quick to dart forward through the waves, not missing to let his tail surface and splash into the water to attract a certain human’s attention. Finding a shoal was easy, and catching the members all the more, tails pierced by his sharp nails, he dragged several of them along with him, back to the beach and the man who had ordered them. And seeing the happy little glint in Jeno’s eyes most definitely made up for the way he had to drag himself through the sand like that.

At least the human got rid of his boots to approach him, crouching on his heels to be at a comfortable height, for something, and what it was Renjun realized when his lips were warmed up with their match, making his tail splash in surprise. There was a sweet taste to Jeno’s mouth now, something he assessed must have to do with the fruit the human had eaten, but it made their kisses more intriguing, the flavor nothing he was used to, something he wanted to taste more of. Flesh was always stringy, was fun to tear apart and chew to pieces, mellow flavor not what he was used to, only if he could keep licking it off the other’s lips he would readily go for a taste again and again.

Belatedly the siren realized the pile of wood had turned into something else, vibrant red licking up into the air, dancing like fish in the currents, moving with the breeze in an almost hypnotizing way. It caused Renjun to release a curious noise, eyes focused on the unknown thing and Jeno, turning his head, broke into an eye-curving smile. “That’s fire. We use it to cook our food. You wouldn’t be familiar with it, Renjun, it doesn’t go well with the wet.”

The tailed nodded in what he tried to be mimic as understanding but he didn’t entirely, and when his eyes returned to the human, he saw Jeno put on this expression reserved for requests alone. “Could you help me gut the fish? I don’t a knife with me…” Lips pushing into a little pour, Renjun’s gaze caught onto their ruddy appearance for a second, until he had processed the words. Stupid him, he called in his mind as he moved around until he was in a somewhat comfortable sitting position, screwing his fingers into the meaty part beneath the fish gills and tearing down along it, removing the intestines which he carelessly threw to the side, knowing it would be minutes only until some brave bird had picked them up. 

One fish after another, until their twitching carcasses were trapped within Jeno’s hands who gave him another kiss - “Thank you,” he smiled - and then returned to the beach. Piercing them on the pointy branches, he rammed those into the sand, letting the meat hover above the fire to _cook_. Whatever kind of logic that was, the siren didn’t understand it, had already realized humans didn’t do well with raw fish but this was some kind of action he could not perceive. 

Splashing his tail into the water, he attracted the human’s attraction, tilted the head towards the sea promptly before taking off to get his own food. A quick eater, he had devoured a few fish before he was back to the beach, returning to his spot in the shallow waves so he could watch over Jeno eat, a sight that filled him with warmth, allowed him to scan over the human’s body bit by bit while remaining calm.

Lying, Renjun had to realize, was not nearly as comfortable as humans made it out to be. He was half-fish, supposed to be in water, not feeling his fins and scales go dry, no matter how often he tried to splash water with his tail all over himself, make sure his body would be nicely moist. That was just his surface, though, the posture had his sides cramping, and lying on his front nor back was not an option unless he wanted to squish his beautiful fins, a price he was not the least ready to pay.

Without noticing, he was exhaling in relief by the time Jeno had finished eating, all fish torn in half, head discarded, meat scraped off the skin and remains dropped in the sand so some other piscivore could pick it up. It meant he was finally able to go back into water without feeling bad for leaving the human alone, could go for the deeper parts or maybe take a turn around the island, over to where the shore was rocky and water was deeper, where he could swim up to the human sized cliff and talk to Jeno with more ease. Because even talking sounded like a struggle when so many feet were between them, surely bridging twice Renjun’s full length, making it seem like more of a bother than pleasure.

What he had not expected - and he slowly grew to learn his human was full of surprises - was for Jeno to get up, stretching while making some weird sound, body lines shifting in fascinating ways, and putting his hands on his pants. Carefully the siren blinked when it felt like time was slowing down, thumb hooked underneath fabric that was shoved down, revealing more skin, looking infinitely soft, thighs to inviting to just bite, and Renjun felt his mouth water for different reasons. The muscles linked to his teeth ached, hunger pushing forth the bone when when there was nothing to eat, heat scouring from inside not out. 

Legs had always been enticing to him, perfect mixture of muscle and fat, more tender, as if it were the inside of his own tail, and just how much he only realized now, watching Jeno’s in entirety. They were firm, even with the distance Renjun could tell as much, and now more defined than trapped in those pants, allowing the siren to see more than he thought himself able to stomach. His heart just about sounded like giving out the closer Jeno came to him, more details he could spot, the little mole near his pelvis bone, the scar running up the left shin, along almost the entire length of Jeno’s lower leg that had the creature so curious to ask where it came from.

Only that no sound left his lips as he looked up with big dry eyes, blinking rapidly to get rid of the strain carefully. “Want to- to take a swim?” He asked, voice hoarse and it didn’t seem to go unnoticed by Jeno whose cheeks flushed slightly but a smile spread over his lips nonetheless. The sun reflected prettily within darkly hidden brown irises, looking like the sea from underneath, little sparks of light dancing across the surface, breaking off his skin if Renjun just so dared reach his hand upwards.

“I’d love to,” the younger replied, and it was the only cue needed, siren pushing off his rock to worm his way through the sand again. Renjun tried, he really tried, to ignore Jeno’s amusement who was able to just walk but it was a matter of impossibility once the human spoke up, “Should I carry you maybe?”

It took one look at Jeno, strong arms and flexing muscles, and then one look down his own body, and he already knew. He had seen it before, several sailors needed to heave a shark out of the water, a useless act when he had sunk their ship to save his fellow sea habitant, and he knew his own body wasn’t too unlike that. So he snorted, blowing air through his nose, gills flapping against his neck in dislike, and pushed forward for the last bit, until he could move comfortably again, and this time he assessed Jeno instead. A momentary consideration, but he was quick to repeat the same decision he had made days ago, except this time he reached for a human arm not leg, pulled the other into the water simultaneously as he propelled himself forwards.

Just like this, it were seconds until they had abandoned the shore, his arms tight around Jeno’s waist, swimming chest to chest as he maneuvered with his tail, the tip of it breaching the waves time and time again. For him it was easy to remain with his head underwater but he had to pay more attention to the human, make sure he wouldn’t get too much water into his lungs, albeit the dark haired seemed to have grown comfortable with the situation easily. Legs spread around Renjun’s folded frontal fin, elbows propped against the siren’s shoulders to keep himself afloat some more, Jeno didn’t show any signs of distress even when the island had become small behind them.

Underneath them, the tailed knew, the reefs were colorful, water clear and sheer with the sunlight hitting it, dozens of colorful fish darting around, between orange corals and pink anemones, algae a luscious green way better than the forests they had left behind. A sight that was normal to Renjun and unknown to Jeno, peering over the shoulder of the male carrying him, and the siren took up on the hint and stopped. Backwards fin stretched out, swaying slightly to keep them afloat, he took his time to look at his companion who had sat up a bit, after carefully testing the creature’s body underneath, awaiting the lilac haired’s approval. 

Renjun wouldn’t be able to tear whole ships down if he couldn’t carry a mere human, their proximity intoxicating as he just remained watching. Slowly, not wanting to scare Jeno away, he moved his hands, wrapped his fingers around the younger’s ankles, boney beneath his touch, and he could cover almost the entirety of it with his webbing. He liked the little knob near the heel, bone protruding, so inviting to rub circles around for a while before he dared move further up. Calves strong and trained, he didn’t manage to curl his fingers around half of it even, muscles flexing and twitching beneath his touch as he stroked along it, felt along the shadows he had only caught glimpses of earlier, when they had been at the beach still. 

No word of protest, no sign of Jeno stopping him, he went on a bit further, palm pressing into knobbly knees, thumb digging into the fleshy inner thigh as he rubbed up and down. He allowed his eyes to follow, trace down the lines he was already familiar with with his gaze, firm chest that felt so nice against his own, abdominal muscles so refined, sharp lines leading to the human’s core that had never caught his interest quite as much as now. It had Renjun swallow harshly, eyes quickly jumping upwards when he could feel the heat radiating off the human’s body, soft flesh that wasn’t as tender anymore, scraping along the softed ones of his scales, closer to his skin covered parts of anatomy. They were finer, smaller, but they must offer fricting to Jeno nonetheless whose face was flushed, eyes glazed over as if a siren’s song was sung, no longer focused on the ocean view underneath but the siren solely instead.

“You don’t… have one…” Eventually, Jeno ended up saying, words barely audible but so easily perceived by Renjun who didn’t catch on at first, not until he felt the twitch of _something_ against his thumb resting so high up on Jeno’s inner thigh. He wasn’t stupid, was only missing the word, didn’t know what to call it now that he had to name it, but suddenly the siren felt heavy for his head to be underwater, obscurring some of his own flush.

“You’re,” he started, gills fluttering in embarrassment and he bit his lower lip for a moment, “sitting on it…” An embarrassing confession but he didn’t know how else to explain, he wasn’t a shark to have claspers or a fish entirely to just spurt his seed into water to hope for the best. His kind was still built for intercourse but he hadn’t thought to have to explain that ever, not when it seemed so natural to them. “It’s just… not _out_ …”

Renjun, at least, was smart enough to realize that there was a similarity, the sign of humane arousal was the hardening of one’s appendage, for his kind it meant revealing it, push it out like their teeth, protect it from impact otherwise. Keepers of the Sea knew it would be uncomfortable to play with fish or hunt down prey if they had such sensitive part hanging loose, and he couldn’t comprehend what humans would do without clothes. 

“Oh…” Jeno echoed lightly, but the flush didn’t fade. Neither did the hardness Renjun could feel brushing against the lowest part of his skin clad stomach, so unlike what he knew to touch, to feel, hadn’t known it could be so pleasurable to feel a human be aroused because of him alone. And still, Jeno did not stop him as his fingers moved up and then down, shaky breaths revealed into the air as the siren curled his fingers around the hardening shaft, way longer than his palm, girth he could barely grasp, but so intriguing to touch.

He could understand it now, why some sirens liked to keep humans as pets before devouring them, because the noises Jeno made were the most beautiful sound he had ever heard. Better than all his prey’s screams, a tender ring in his ears, breaching the water shallowly covering his face but not enough to be held off. Noises that grew louder whenever Renjun felt his webbing catch onto the tip, dragging down along it, tight against the hardening flesh, and that he couldn’t possibly see only meant he had to rely more on touch. Feel up the little veins he could sense pulsing against his skin, feel the smeary droplets of early release dragging between their skin, the little edge beneath the tip that seemed so sensitive when he brushed against it again and again, but his favorite sound was when his webbing was stuck against it on an upwards move, a split second of tugging that had Jeno throw back his head.

Thighs clasping around scaled hips, the human looked like the very incarnation of pleasure, back arched, muscles tense, fingers clasping onto nothing because there was only water around. The soft feeling pair of flesh beneath Jeno’s shaft that had it twitching whenever Renjun touched there, the tender skin right in between these two parts - there were so many things to explore, so many ways to drive Jeno insane, or maybe it was the siren going down that path thanks to being hooked onto the beauty he had in his arms.

Time was a concept he couldn’t grasp, mind numbed by Jeno’s pretty sounds, but when there was a high, when he could feel the other’s manhood twitch for one last time beneath his hand, thick liquid hit his webbing spread over the top. Collecting against his skin before dripping into the sea, it was a sinful sensation, proof of pleasure and high. Renjun didn’t comment on it, he simply held onto Jeno tight when the younger crumbled down on top of him. Breath irregular against his chest, it got more chopped off when the human released a choked off laugh. “Now I know what you meant with _out_ ,” he mumbles, rutting his hips the slightest bit.

Embarrassment was searing hot as it overcame the siren, for the first time aware of his own state. He could feel his cock heavy against his scales, pressed against Jeno’s thigh where it had tilted to the side, the very part of himself he had tried to hide at night now revealed and felt. Acting upset, the siren gargled in protest, taking revenge in a little gesture as he tumbled them through the water once, making Jeno dripping wet but letting him rest on his chest again. Maybe if they could stay like this for a while, Renjun wouldn’t mind the sun either. 

𝇏𝆴𝆵𝆴𝇏 ❥ )͜͡˒ ⋊

Jeno’s fingers were tender as they caressed through lilac strands, touch so foreign to a being used to being alone the way Renjun was, it was way more comfortable than he has first thought, the little circles rubbed into his scalp, nails tearing his entangled strands apart until they were fluffed up, slowly drying from being exposed to the air like that. More than that, not just the touch but their proximity too, Jeno’s thigh was a cozy pillow, and the siren had found himself surprised with how comfortable the other seemed with nudity now, as if sharing intimate touch once was enough of a reason to abandon all sorts of boundaries. Not that Renjun was bothered by that, not when he was pretty much baring all of himself every day, no clothes to cover up his skin and scales.

Revealed flesh, it was so enticing to just touch, an invitation he wasn’t able to refuse when he could feel warm skin underneath his fingers, twitching muscles, pulsing veins vibrating against his palm. There was something horribly intimate about just being able to be close like this, to enjoy tender caresses and offer gentle touch, ignoring the simmering of heat low in his body when it meant he was allowed to just be close like this, revel in their proximity, feel the strings stitching them together until it was webbing not unlike the one spanning between his fingers, immensely dense, meant to resist the strongest of currents but seeming infinitely fragile, letting air shine through it was that thin too. Their bond, also, couldn’t be perceived just like that but it didn’t mean it wasn’t strong, wasn’t enduring enough to deal with them bridging so many differences.

Touches traveling, the younger had Renjun turning his head when it traversed his face, reaching his cheeks to trace along his cheekbones featherly, brushing back the very strands he had played with until a moment ago. “Sometimes I forget you’re not human like me. But then you look at me like this and I remember there isn’t anyone quite like this. So beautiful...” Jeno confessed, almost absent-mindedly, as if it were a thought on the side and not the concern occupying most of his mind. 

“Didn’t you know?” Renjun asked in return, turning on his thought entirely, fins flaring shortly before he folded his frontal one, using only his behind one to support his water under water, allowing his tail to remain barely beneath the water surface. Neck stretching, he tilted his head backwards, rolling it against Jeno’s thigh solely for the purpose of looking at him. “We were created beautifully so we can lure unsuspecting sailors into the sea. There is no way we don’t look pretty to you at any time.”

Jeno hummed lowly, considering these words carefully but the rumble it caused to the surrounding air was so soothing to the siren, feeling it reverberate against the tips of his folded fin and revealed tail. “I thought that is what your singing is for?”

A statement the creature couldn’t help grinning at, impressed with Jeno catching on so quickly but also the simple fact that he was entertained with his own stories, that he was indulged in his fooling around when normally hadn’t anyone to banter around with. There were so many things he had missed out on without realizing, so many habits that were new to him but made him feel so warm, such amount of experiences he could still make, not even knowing of them. “Hm, who knows. It’s just what I was told by unsuspecting sailors before.”

Already was Renjun expecting some sort of retaliation, none of which came, the human’s focus had slipped and it took him a second to realize it was his mouth Jeno’s eyes were trained on, grin slowly slipping but lips remaining parted. It took time, overcoming hesitation, making up his resolve, and finally being daring enough to drive calloused fingers further down Renjun’s cheek until they met the corner of his mouth. The siren’s breath hitched when it didn’t stop there, could feel Jeno’s thumb dip past them, brushing against his frontal fangs, more sensitive than a human’s from how they were connected to muscle and not just grown from the bone, every little tremor of touch could be perceived by the sensible flesh. Missing out on Jeno pressing down on them lightly was a matter of impossibility, it was the opposite, had Renjun’s fins flare in semblance of the shudders the younger seemed to experience with every touch placed at the right spot. 

Surprising even himself, the siren moved his tongue upwards, curled it around Jeno’s thumb, enticing him to reach deeper, explore more, and just that was what the younger one did indeed. Tracing along the creature’s lips, smooth when under water but so easily drying out exposed to the air, slipping inside again to touch razor sharp teeth, always only sufficient not to tear skin but Renjun could feel the little dips and swell of skin, the uneven distribution of callous from where it must have been worked more. Digit teasing along his tongue, pressing down and rubbing little lines into it, reaching the point the older couldn’t focus anymore, choking on air he had no need inhaling through his mouth, tail thrashing lightly, the telltale sign of his interest Jeno must be used to by then, for already was he pressing harder, observing the entirety of the siren who had no place to hide nor cover up.

Before embarrassment about his slowly increasingly aroused state could overcome him, the human was already shutting him down, thumb used to keep Renjun’s mouth with ease, Jeno leaned in to claim it with his tongue as well. Kiss filthy and wet, it was an all too perfect representation of the greed they must both have felt since their first kiss, touches gravitating towards one another, lips connecting time and time again, sometimes it was the only thing the siren could think of during his awake time but even then it followed him into his hours of rest, permeating his thoughts, dreaming despite his natural tendencies.

His tail swayed harder, caused the water to circle towards the lithic shore and flood its edges, sound so present in their ears, thrown around the cave and thrown back at them from the walls. Their kiss was mind-numbing, a muted dance of tongues when Renjun felt his still kept in place, sensed its match run along his teeth, caress the roof of his mouth to the point it triggered the siren’s greed, teeth aching with a need to come out he couldn’t control entirely. But what he could control was whether or not he risked hurting Jeno for that, and the moment he felt the younger’s breath hitch he used his chance, shooting up from the water with a twist so he could wrap his arms around the human’s waist. Force of his movement enough to send them tipping over, Renjun barely so managed to maneuver them so it was him to come crashing down on his back, skin scraping along stone, warm body on top of his own in a familiar position again that had his gills stuck at the memory.

That afternoon, their current positioning was too similar to it, the way Jeno’s thighs were tight around his hips, hardening cock catching onto the smallest of scales in a way that had the human grunting, rutting his hips upwards a bit in pursuit of more delectable friction. Like this, lower body to its match, it was impossible for Jeno to miss out on the arousal flooding Renjun’s body too, manhood lured forward with touches and kiss, clouding the siren’s mind sweetly.

“Jun… Renjun…” Jeno whispered, voice faint and almost _broken_ , as if desire was too much for such fragile body to handle, threatening to explode and wreck their surrounding space, ruining all within vicinity as if it were a careless space. Palms that pressed into soft flesh, moving along soft skin in a way it had the siren’s back arching upwards in want for more, questioning hum escaping parted lips that prompted the younger to go on still, “Were so good to me… Lemme repay the favor, love, lemme treat you well too…”

Slowly, the tailed shook his head, until it turned into a hectic movement which he only stopped when feeling bare skin brush along his cock, fins flaring in shock, scraping along stone and hitting Jeno’s back with an audible sound too. The dark haired didn’t flinch at that, right the opposite, eyes darkening it seemed the human took delight in having found a sweet spot of the creature’s, not hesitating in rubbing against Renjun’s cock again with - what the latter realized then - was his thigh, applying pressure from above, circling his hips lightly to achieve just that.

“Feels different…” Jeno mumbled, cheeks flushed in this cute way the siren loved to see, a sight to drink in, brandish into his memory so he could recall it again and again, associated with a taste so sweet on his tongue, so uniquely Jeno certainly. Renjun couldn’t tell whether it was Jeno who had moved or him, must have been the both of them, for before he had realized the other had shifted down his body, sitting on his tail below his revealed dick, fingertips tenderly tracing along the slick skin. Reaction so intense, the human must have come to a realization of his own, lips parted in a wondering circle, eyes wide where they looked down at the lilac haired. “Were you never touched by anyone? I thought you said you did… you know- that mating thing...”

Answer delayed by a louder moan at the first proper touch, fingers circling his girth and tracing along the skin that was entirely smooth, wasn’t adorned by veins or defined tip, gradually growing thinner towards its end, more flexible than Jeno’s cock too, it resembled one of a marine mammal more than a human’s, seemed to fascinate the latter all the more. “That-” Renjun tried to ask but broke off, tail splashing the water violently and fins shaking, when the other’s thumb rubbed into the end of his manhood, circling around the little hole. “Keepers’ sake, fuck- We just- fuck, don’t bother exploring much- It’s _mating_ , Jeno, not as much fun as you might think…”

“So you never…?” Question left unfinished, the explanation followed right the second after when the siren felt fingers tracing along the little hole above his cock, pressing into it with ease. There was no denying his physiology was different to a human’s, muscles giving way more easily that Renjun found a finger slide inside him before he had realized the same. Movement that had his eyes rolling back, it was not stimulation itself that drove him insane but the mere idea of it, of feeling the way the females did during their mating session, conquered by another siren, feeling connected in a way he had never before. 

Renjun didn’t have it in himself to answer, only shook his head lightly and was rewarded so sweetly, mouth falling open to release a song of sorts he had never before, tones resonating around them and trembling in tandem with the way Jeno’s fingers - because there were two- no, fuck, three - caressed along his insides, exploring his walls at a patient pace, pressure tender but tangible, driving the siren insane. Pleasure that was amplified with the way dry fingers felt rough against his dick, smoothing out the length of it despite its tendency to curl up, possessing a life of its own at the height of arousal, flexible to adjust to mating situations that weren’t anywhere to as controlled as humane intercourse, could not risk getting their manhood broken by a clash of tails, evolutionary need to reach as deep inside as they could, sating the females by moving on its own when thrusting was no longer an option too.

His back arched cruelly so, had him thankful for his flexibility, when he felt another finger move inside, making him slowly feel the stretch and furthermore the aroused state Jeno was in too, breath heavy, cock hard against his scales, hips swaying, skin pressing into the sides of his tail enticingly. “Jen-” Renjun moaned, already so dazed that even opening his eyes felt like a challenge of its own, blinking drowsily so he could soak up on the sight of his human looking so pleasantly flushed for a moment too, look of dark eyes almost as clouded as when a siren were singing for real. There was something burning inside that gaze, yearning not hidden, and Renjun had to consider for a moment whether his current sounds weren’t luring the black haired into getting drunk on lust. “D-did you…?”

Slowly, Jeno nodded his head, bit his lower lip for a moment in a way that had Renjun wanting to just grab him by the neck and pull him down, claim them and make them all swollen and red on his own. “Jaemin bought me a whore before… Had me learn it all within a night so I won’t suck that bad when I get to it,” he explained, and the siren knew that normally it would embarrass the walker but high on desire none of that mattered, thoughts eradicated, replaced with greed. “Could make you feel good too, Jun… Will you let me?”

“Keeper’s sake...” Renjun allowed his head to fall back, eyes shut tight again as he thought it over for a moment. He hadn’t heard of that before, of a human fucking with a siren, someone of his kind, knew only that some had a habit of keeping walkers around for pleasure’s purpose but he hadn’t ever anticipated himself to become one of them. Now it seemed alluring, as if refusing Jeno would be the biggest affront of all, an unholy sin he could not commit - and he didn’t even want to. After exploring Jeno’s dick before, he wanted more, wanted to know whether it would feel as good inside him as all of these touches did too, would fill him up as nicely as his fingers did whilst slowly driving him insane.

Answering verbally was impossible so he just nodded his head rashly, allowed his hands to travel, slide up Jeno’s legs in that familiar way until he could grasp the younger by the hips, push him upwards the little bit needed to have the human above his cock, closer to his hole than before, where rough fingers were gently tracing along his walls still. His response must have been understandable nonetheless, because Renjun was left feeling awfully empty right the moment after, fingers no longer so sweetly stretching him apart, exposed to the air that felt chillier now than prior their heated kiss.

Whatever thought had been left within his mind up to this point was entirely eradicated from his head, the moment Jeno pushed into him meant pleasure flooding him like stormy waves, swamping his body and self, and making him release the same in sound. Something similar to a _wail_ escaped him at the sensation, hole stretching to accommodate the human’s girth, yet without making him feel pain, body weight that kept his hips in place and thighs that sweetly flexed against his side, there was an overload of sensory impressions Renjun did not how to handle. Tail curling, swaying this way and that, and fins flapping about, hitting water and air, hitting the stone underneath his arms, it took the siren minutes or hours or maybe just seconds to get used to this sensation first. Or so he would, but Jeno had no mercy with him, was grinding his hips in a lazy rhythm that was enough to get the siren’s body into overdrive nonetheless.

An earthquake must have been happening, it might as well have been Renjun on his own, all he knew was that his body was tense like a bow strung, every little thrust inside had him feel like snapping apart, pleasure he had not known swaying inside his body like waves on the beach, retreating with Jeno’s pull and flooding him anew with every push. “Je- Jen-” The siren stuttered, usually so good with his tongue and words, it seemed all of such ability had left him now, his body but a shell filled with his adoration and affection turned into deadly currents sucking him into a swirl that was all about devouring Jeno in all these new ways, make sure every cranny of his self was filled with the human’s essence, wanted to consume his human whole, turn them into one until there was nothing to separate them ever again.

Possibly this was this thing that humans liked to call _love_ but Renjun had no way of telling, had never felt this bond with another of his kind, couldn’t relate to all these emotions Jeno had tried to describe. All he knew, all he could relate to, was the way he felt about his reefs, about this indescribable reluctance to share, just wanted more and more of his treasures, wanted to collect the humans he had devoured. He didn’t want to give up any of what he considered _his_ , every fibre of his self protesting such thought, refusing a reality in which this could take place, and such thought followed him to this moment too. Sharing Jeno, giving up on his human or letting go, it was repulsive, it was an outright horrible idea when, instead, he could just be with his alive treasure for the remains of their lives, tie the knot of red strings tied to their hands, make sure they would be one with no one to tear them apart. Jeno was supposed to be his, and Jeno would be his, craving worse than any hunger he had felt making him decide the same. 

Usual strength driven out of his body, Renjun felt it was a wonder he could do as much as raise his arms to wrap around the other’s waist, pull Jeno down for a greedy kiss that was more spit and tongue than a touch of lips. He didn’t dare do more, not when his teeth had pushed through his gums, were filling up his mouth in a way so different to the way Jeno’s tongue felt against his own, deadly weapons meant to tear apart when now he wanted to put one and one together instead. Pleasure that was not only his own, he could sense the mirrored version of in the way the younger sped up, brushes of leg against tail from where the human attempted to find a better spot of vantage, advantageous position that had him thrust in deeper, and once he had, once Jeno was able to intensify his thrusts, Renjun already considered himself over.

His high was detectable, was not only given away to him by the way his heartbeat was rising and body growing impossibly hot, it was his dick swaying around, not from the impact of thrusts but inner muscles moving, useless mating instincts triggered, the need to pleasure another of his kind that would not even know to appreciate the favor he did. Orgasms he knew, had one every other session, with every release, but Renjun had a feeling this one would not be like before, would not be the same as all those times he had merely filled up a female siren for the sake of it, keep their race alive and flourishing as was their job. But this, this situation right now, it wasn’t _mating_ , it was different - was more. And more he wanted to make of it indeed, lids fluttering as he looked up, presented with the bleary but distinguible sight of Jeno right above, eyes dazed, infinitely dark, black holes that threatened to suck him and devour him for good.

“Jen- Jeno,” Renjun moaned, throat try and tongue heavy despite having just kissed, not enough liquid surrounding him to make him feel like he wasn’t stranded, entirely at the mercy of Jeno’s self, relying on a human he was meant to consume when it had been his own heart that had been consumed, taken away by humane eyes. “Do you- Tell me you trust me,” he demanded, had to blink from how dry his eyes were at that point, a reminder of their differences, did not even have the tears to spare that had collected at the corners of eyes framed by black. Differences he wanted to bridge, didn’t want them to be an oceanic rim between them, gravity sucking water in, pulling them apart.

The younger must be quite as dazed as him, hips losing rhythm, graduating into senseless rutting that felt so good all the same, reminded Renjun that this was wrong but oh so right, felt so good when he could feel every detail of Jeno’s dick rubbing against his pulsing walls. The little edge beneath the humane dick catching onto the little folds of his slick walls, pushing along them, tugging roughly, the steady stream of blood he could sense echoing through his muscles so well at every impact of skin to skin. It was Jeno’s breathy agreement that pulled him, silent confession of faith, agreement to a bond they must have already settled on, was all Renjun needed to pull Jeno down.

Teeth aching with need, the desire to tear themselves through flesh and bone, was satiated at once. The bite he executed was ruthless, was merciless taking apart tissue and skin, until he could go no further without tearing it all apart, there was but the warmth of blood flooding his mouth, trickling down his cheeks and chin, and what was driving him over the edge shouldn’t affect the other the same. 

Renjun’s eyes widened when he felt liquid heat spilled into him, quite the same in manner to his own, dick twitching and shooting his cum about, onto Jeno’s back, his own tail and into the air all the same, had no aim to direct it at so it was all about. Each of the younger’s desperate last thrusts, the desire to drag his own orgasm on, had the siren react too, last squirts of fluid white and not visible on his own scales, thinner than what he could feel inside, would run down whatever it had hit with rushed ease, attracted by gravity now that it was no longer trapped.

Another thrust, another shudder, and Renjun could feel the other collapsing onto his chest, their breathing at the same ragged pace, ribs expanding and folding with every in and out, moving in tandem quite like their hearts did too. A pained noise slipped over Jeno’s lips by the time the siren felt ready to undo his teeth, blood running down glistening skin and dripping onto his own from where he had bitten so hard. Little nips of red, forming half moons around the curve of the human’s shoulder, well visible now that they were red and bare, filling the perpetrator with satisfaction just glinting at them. 

Renjun didn’t explain, and Jeno didn’t ask, there was nothing but the relieved exhale the human did when water started to swallow them bit by bit. Having regained his strength, it was easy to move, slide down the stones, into the pool of ocean water until it had engulfed them entirely. Red that faded into its mass, spread around like diluted mist that slowly died down, wounds washed and disinfected by the sea, the siren didn’t pass the chance to trace his tongue over it just once, singing in delight at what he had done. The exact meaning he had not explained, but maybe he didn’t need to, not when he could see warmth simmer in Jeno’s eyes, gentle smile, and when they moved upwards to breach the water surface again, the older forgot to explain by the second their lips connected for another kiss. 

𝇏𝆴𝆵𝆴𝇏 ❥ )͜͡˒ ⋊

“I thought you didn’t plan to eat me,” Jeno asked by the time was up, and the wound on his shoulder had become more visible, skin scabbed over in this ugly brownish way. It didn’t fill Renjun with quite as much exhilaration to look at it this time around, was only the knowledge that it would be scarring pleasantly in a while that had him take delight in it regardless.

“I won’t eat you,” Renjun smiled, chin propped on his lower arms which he was resting on the lithic ground like the rest of his upper body, “I’m not able to.” He swayed his tail lightly, calmed by the sound of water slowly moving about, filling his cave with this pleasant trickling noise. “That one is like… uhm… mating bond?” The word for it, the way humans would use it, had slipped his mind, not one he was familiar with nor deemed important enough to actually learn.

Despite that, it seemed Jeno had gotten the gist of it, a bright flush on his cheeks that looked so mesmerizing, had the siren urging to kiss or lick it, wanted to feel how much warmer the skin underneath had become. “A marriage band?” Something in the expression in his eyes changed, dark with greed but mellow with warmth, and the human looked at it under a different light, spark so obvious Renjun couldn’t possibly miss out on it. 

Slowly the older nodded his head, felt the hint of his own embarrassment coloring his cheeks in a similar manner, for having admitted to having put such mark on Jeno’s skin, no matter how good - how _right_ \- it had felt, he was aware it had been a one-sided action. He hadn’t asked for approval, hadn’t proposed or whatever humans were used to do in such situation because sirens were that much more instinct ridden. If a connection was there, they bonded, and despite the possibility of it being so very evident, it was something equally as rare as it was meaningful. In all his years of taking part in mating seasons, which were a lot more than his humane appearance might suggest, he hadn’t observed the same at least once.

Sirens, they were too territorial to share, even having a mate would mean a clash, and it seemed as ironic as it made sense, that he believed to have found the same in a human. Because a human wouldn’t try to battle him on his grounds, wouldn’t challenge him, was satisfied with remaining on land so he could conquer the waters surrounding them, a clear line that pushed them apart and pulled them closer all the same, because all land had emerged from the sea, and all oceans were flooding solid grounds. Complementing each other, completing what hadn’t been that way before, they belonged together, earthen grounds and liquid sea, the skies that were covering the both alike. 

“Keeps you safe, too,” Renjun mumbled shyly, eyes tracing down to the way water was playing around stone, swamping over the edge of the pool in little waves, way smaller than out on the beach, way harmless than those crashing against the cliffs outside his cave. “In case you get attacked by a siren or some creature, you’d just have to show them…” A little snort escaped him, water in his lungs spit out accidentally, as he tried to imagine his own reaction to such situation albeit it had been him who had done it now, “They might laugh at you and insult me then… But they won’t hurt you, Jeno. That’d mean war, for sirens and other monsters alike - I’d have hunted them down before they’d knew to make sense of it. So don’t you dare hide this from them.”

They were territorial, they didn’t share, every breach of their borders resembling an affront and, for the first time in a long time, it seemed the human was overcome with the same revelation again. The Renjun presented to his guest, a creature with teeth but no bite, entertained by stories and curious to learn more, was still a monster to the walking kind, sunk ships and tore humans apart to devour them too. As much as it was supposed to intimidate everyone else, it seemed Jeno was only touched by it, throat colored in rosé and lips parted in surprise too.

Absent-mindedly, an action accompanying a different set of thoughts, the younger rubbed along his scabbing wound, tearing the crust off accidentally. “Didn’t you just say you can’t eat me?” He asked, a bit confused, a distraction that Renjun was more than willing to fall for.

“I can’t,” he agreed, tilting his head to the side lightly, as if changing his angle of looking at things would change the situation too. “We’re not into cannibalism. But _not eating_ doesn’t mean _not killing_ , love. Any other siren might still tear your head off for daring to stupidly steal their treasure.” He huffed lightly, rolling his eyes affectionately as he thought back to their first encounter, stupid blinded human. But Jeno was _his_ stupid blinded human, and whilst Renjun was still certain it had been more than dumb and reckless too, he couldn’t disdain the other for the same anymore. “You were lucky you are that pretty for me not to kill you even after you kicked me…”

He pouted, palm rubbing into his cheek that no longer ached but the memory of it was still engrained to his mind. It had been a long time since someone had last dared injure him, not to mention actually succeeding with it, meaning it was something he would hold against for Jeno for a long, long time. After all, wasn’t he too pretty to get treated like this? His own lover had agreed to him being too beautiful for his good, this seemed very contradictory then.

As if it had been a silent command, Jeno got up from his place on the ground to approach the pool, leaning down to press a few fluttering kisses onto the siren’s healed face. “I’m sorry, love. It won’t happen again,” he promised, and it was obvious the dark haired meant it, sincerity in his words so telling, could not be ignored. Instead, there was something else lingering in his tone, silent longing that Renjun couldn’t sort, only had the older frown in disdain, eyes stern, carefully assessing unto it was too much and Jeno gave in.

Head lowering, it was only tender caresses against wet skin that remained, when Jeno gathered his wits, find the right words for whatever he was trying to tell. “I have to leave, Renjun…” Pain, utter and raw ache filling these words, it was the only reason the siren didn’t shoot out of the water to release his frustration at once, nor push himself back to get away from the one who could fill him with so much joy and hurt alike. “I promise! I promise I will come back to you, I’ll return as soon as I can, Renjun! Really! You know I belong to you now, right?”

Something dark curled within the siren’s chest at these words, upset, hurt and possessiveness alike, heart mended by these sweet words that meant more to him than an expression of _love_ because love was an emotion he couldn’t grasp entirely but _owning_ was. Jeno was his, someone he wouldn’t share nor give away, a detail his human must be so very aware of, buying himself time by saying these same words again.

Touches that had been tender become soothing, something to ground Renjun despite his anguish, spirits smoothened only by Jeno adjusting their position until he had his legs in the water, laying his back on the ground with the siren on top, heavy tail between spread thighs, breathing chest above its mirror image. “You might not understand this but I have family out there, love. My dad and the others - they’re surely waiting for me. Or maybe they already think I’m dead… Do you think it’s fair to them to keep lying like this, when I’m well alive and frolicking about with you?”

Not being able to help it, the siren had to think back to their first day, after his injury, when Yuta had come looking for him specifically to make sure he was doing okay despite his wrenching scream of pain. Yuta had made sure to check up on him despite a lack of obligation, and he had felt so guilty for lying about the reason behind his bruising back then, had felt it churning in his guts for hours. His fellow siren who had raced all the way to him, crossing oceans just to check up on him living in a different accumulation of islands, so far away but apparently just close enough. 

Over dramatising only put him into Jeno’s role, to know one of their kind was out there, somewhere, possibly injured or worse, not being able to tell nor know, just having to rely on hopes… He tried to, tried to think of Jeno out there, soaring the seas and fighting for life, whilst Renjun had to stay back, remain stuck inside his cave because he was no roaming being unlike his love. It ached, his heart felt like being twisted and wrung, torn to pieces scattered into the waters and gulped down by sharks, all because he wouldn’t be able to know about how Jeno was bearing.

His eyes were dry, unable to release tears but it didn’t mean he didn’t feel a sudden need to cry, release another _wail_ of anguish. Instead, he pushed himself upwards some more, supporting his weight on his lower arms next to Jeno’s head, his small fins uselessly flapping against the ground. “You need to come back. Don’t you dare not come back,” he whispered, just a second before he already claimed Jeno’s mouth as his, tried to release his pain somewhere, wanted to express his upset, wanted to show off how much he care, how much it - this. Jeno. - mattered to him. All these feelings that were so new to him, emotions he didn’t know to handle how, couldn’t imagine being left all alone with, they were flooding him now as loneliness filled his body despite being held in strong arms.

“You have to,” he mumbled - demanded, because he couldn’t imagine being with Jeno too long. Two weeks, half a moon passing, crescent moving from one side to the other, and he was as attached to his stupid human as he was to this cave he had claimed as hatchling. Within a handful months of his life, he had decided this island to be his, had fought teeth and tails for it, and now he would do the same for this person who owned his heart, the human who carried his mark, a reminder that Jeno would forever be his.

Renjun couldn’t help tracing over it again, feel the swollen skin, the little welts of scabbing that dried blood had caused, until the tissue would stitch itself together into fine white marks. “You’re mine,” he repeated, eyes filled with longing, already did he feel like Jeno was so far away, out of his reach, gone from his sight.

“I’m yours,” the human repeated, words loaded with everything and nothing at once, a moment of baring their hearts, time of stitching together what their minute hurt had caused. “I’m yours, Renjun. I will return, I promise. I love you, all of you. How do you expect me to stay away after you seduced me with your beauty so well?”

Choked laughter escaped the siren’s lips, gills fluttering in distress. His throat felt squeezed tight, a feeling he wasn’t used to, sensation he couldn’t put into words, so instead he did the thing that always made him feel closest to Jeno time and time again, and connected their lips with another kiss. He’d wait, Jeno would return. Until then, he’d just have to make the best of it and have faith in their hearts. 

𝇏𝆴𝆵𝆴𝇏 ❥ )͜͡˒ ⋊

Renjun had seen off Jeno’s tiny boat almost a full moon ago, had swam along that nutshell of a ship until the taste of water changed, warned him that he might be intruding on another siren’s, or another monster’s lair and possibly risking a fight. But he hadn’t been able to deny himself of any single second more he could watch over Jeno, feel close to his love again despite knowing that he would be alone soon enough. At that time he had thought the pain must surely become more bearable by the day, but as he was floating in the water, using a freshly sunken ship’s plank to support his head on, staring out at the far wide ocean as if it would magically reveal Jeno to him any moment now, he felt he had been wrong.

Day by day, the aching within his heart had increased, had him recalling this saying Sicheng had told him before, when they had met during mating season then. _Distance makes the heart grow fond_ , but he had still been greeted by an almost painful slap of tail on his back, made his spine crack and anger flare up inside. He had chased Sicheng around the reefs a few times, slinking past dozens of others of their kind they’d have otherwise crashed into, malicious laughter and yelling that had filled the space otherwise dense with craving and lust, hormones almost tangible within the water, sending them all into a craze. 

Mating season had been again recently, he had felt it in his bones as he had rutted into his hand, trying to get off but no longer able to after he had gotten a taste of how good Jeno could make him feel. Nothing had ever felt the same afterwards, instead he had been going insane for these few days that had both made him crave more and taken his mind off the longing for his love. Mind full of Jeno - his lips, his hands, sweet taste after eating fruit, warmth of another body against his own, sound of racing heart beats and heavy breathing. Never had he felt quite as alone as during these days, had him going almost mad with upset at his own love who was supposed to be making him feel good, not be so far away.

After that had passed, all alone and miserable on his own, he hadn’t felt any sort of libido anymore, as if his aching had exorcised all of it out of his system. Instead his lips had held prayers and pleads, whispers directed at the Keepers of the Sea to return his beloved to him as soon as they could, make sure he wouldn’t be alone for too long, wasn’t sure he’d be able to cope if Jeno didn’t show up before the next mating season again. He had been cut off cold turkey, from having intercourse with so many people he hadn’t been able to count to being with only one person and then no one at all, despite his body’s cravings and his heart’s desires. The only reason he hadn’t yet gone insane was for this silent knowledge, the same way someone breathed without knowing, humans blink their eyes being unaware of such action simultaneously, he just _knew_ that Jeno was out there somewhere, still breathing alive, but entirely too far out of his reach to make him feel good. 

Almost Renjun wished he had grown insane when seeing a telltale sign of rapid bubbles rising to the surface, bursting above water and the sole reason he flung himself off the wood to dip to the side as far as he possibly could, lest he was dragged down in the same way the plank had, bursting from the impact, split clean in half. A fiery flash of red preceded the little balls of air, telling him exactly who it was to have sought him out, albeit he had been able to guess as much already. Nobody else but Yuta would be insane enough to cross so many different territories just to reach him and, equally, nobody was fast enough to accomplish such task that demanded them to rush through foreign hunting grounds before they were caught too.

The force of his older stopping was causing an artificial current tearing on the strings of the anemones beneath them, like wind rustling through leaves, bending the trees on his island this way and that during nights of storms, the plants of his reef experienced the same. And solely for that Renjun shot forward, arm held out so he could grasp Yuta by the waist, catapulting some distance through the water. “Don’t wreak havoc in my home, you menace!”

Fortunately, the redhead was not deterred, swung with the grasp until his back was to the younger’s chest, big ruby scales pressing against smaller diamond-like ones, and with his hold on Renjun’s arm the older siren twirled them a few times through the water. “I come checking up on you and that’s how you greet me, brat?” Yuta shot back, more amused than affronted, not even protesting when the younger pulled away to lead the way first. 

Because he hadn’t shown up to the mating the way the other most definitely had, he hadn’t been able to hand over the presents he had already decided to gift the older. He was grateful, not only because Yuta cared about him in ways he hadn’t known to appreciate prior knowing Jeno, but because the red tailed didn’t point out how he wasn’t as repelling as usual. Even the silent invitation to the cave was new but, pointing the same out, would quite as easily lead into rejection, Renjun refusing the possibility of that ever having taken place.

The cave that had felt too big and vast in the recent weeks, with Jeno gone and no longer filling the lithic spaces, felt awfully small now that Yuta was accompanying him. Before he could become claustrophobic, he lifted himself out of the bigger pool into the smaller one, piled full with treasure but also, next to it, he had placed a little box full of red rubies edged by gold, all possible sorts of jewelry that would look beautiful on the other adorned by colors of the same hues. The same box he pretty much threw in Yuta’s direction without care, he had checked the lock a few times now, had to make sure it wouldn’t burst open from the impact of rushing through the seas, chest not breaking merely because someone had handled it the wrong way.

“It’s your favorites,” Renjun explained the moment he caught the older toying with the lock, prodding at it with curiosity, whilst he himself rested his arms on the edge of the pool, resting his head on top in that every familiar way, in the same posture he had used so often to watch Jeno, the reminder of which made his expression fall instantaneously. It couldn’t possibly go by unnoticed by Yuta who cocked an eyebrow in return, mimicking his posture on the bigger pool’s edge.

Silence, aside from the faint splashing of water as they both swayed their tails, followed the handover, a silence of Renjun reminiscing the livelier days, of Jeno with him, talking to him, combing through his hair in this way he himself could never, because he had webbing where his human lover didn’t, and using his claws wasn’t nearly as comfortable as without. A contrast to Yuta whose mind seemed to be racing at a speed so similar to his swimming, rushed and faster than anyone could ever follow, an impressive deed not to be copied. The younger was certain he knew what was going on in that ruddy head, and yet he did not darn question about it, knew it would catch up to him whether he wanted or not.

Outside he could hear some bird chirping, sounds that he only gew to notice now that he so desperately looked for distraction from his own thoughts. Anything, be it the sounds of birds, the rustling of leaves, or shells moving along the ground - it all was so much more interesting when it was his only occupation of mind. And now he had Yuta, too, another distraction that was as welcome as unexpected as terrifying.

“I’m worried,” the older stated without holding back, no sugarcoating or whatever it was called. Renjun was slowly losing his grip on all these lovely words Jeno liked to use around him so often. “Jun-chan, first that wound and now you didn’t show up for the quarterly meeting… Don’t you think it’s time to stop hiding these things?”

Absent-mindedly, the pale tailed siren rubbed over his shoulder, a place without a mark because Jeno couldn’t possibly repay the favor, had no means of marking him the same way Renjun had done with the human. It had him feeling down a bit, that he didn’t have any marking or treasure or whatever else there could be that proved that he belonged to his beloved in quite the same way. “I think I’ve found the one…”

There should be delight - well, there was delight, was evident in the way Yuta flicked his tail shortly - but it was overshadowed by worry as Yuta’s dark eyes darted around for a quick moment. “So you met someone… And where is she now?”

Renjun couldn’t help grimacing, not when that had been the question he had most feared. “Gone,” he mumbled, saw the flicker of wrath in the elder’s eyes for a second which he was quick to diminish again, “Looking for his family before they worry about him… So I don’t know when he’ll return to me…”

Confusion, then realization, then dread. In that order, emotions passed over the redhead’s face, and then, finally, there was understanding. “Just be careful, Jun-chan. Giving your heart away too easily can always backfire, and you know the price we have to pay for that.”

“I know,” the younger smiled wryly, he knew all too well. Only because sirens were reclusive and liked to be in their own, territorial and unwilling to share, it didn’t mean that stories could not be exchanged. The instincts that had them all pool together every fourth new moon, they were ingrained so well, had every maturing new siren approach that spot without restraint, to learn from others there, hear about the stories and tales they couldn’t become familiar with otherwise. Meeting others of their kind, learning the most basic of things, it was sometimes more of the focus than the mating itself. As if they were all taking a time off being their hostile selves, yet a visit like these that Yuta kept repeating were unusual regardless. And now that Renjun had not attended the last, the older volunteered to catch him up on everything he had missed himself.

A welcome distraction, one that lasted him hours because Yuta always found a snarky remark to include here and a mean advice to say there and if only to make the younger laugh. It was easier like this, letting go of himself for the hours that it lasted, not once being allowed to think back to Jeno’s current being because he was his thoughts were pleasantly drowned out by someone else’s words, passing with such fluidity the sun sank and moon rose without them even noticing. But Renjun was grateful for that, it meant this being one less day of having to worry himself sick. 

𝇏𝆴𝆵𝆴𝇏 ❥ )͜͡˒ ⋊

It was a full moon, the night he noticed the shift in the waters outside, heard the bird screeching outside when it was supposed to be their resting time, which always only meant one thing - ship. And anyone daring to cross these waters at dark must be one of those dangerous guys, the ones Jeno had called pirates, stupid and greedy bunch who didn’t care about their safety for good. They also always had the best treasures on board, meaning he’d not only get his stomach stuffed but also his cave filled, and it was the reminder of that which had Renjun dive into the water without hesitation.

Nights like this one, he was a bit short on time so he better hurry up, get to his prey before it would escape him, although - even just one of them would suffice to entertain him for a while. He’d just have to drown them before they’d escape and then eat them all the faster. Drowned humans weren’t exactly as tasty as those eaten freshly alive.

Tail swaying fastly, he moved through the waters until he had reached the ship, flags black and wood incredibly dark, most definitely having been in use for a long time now. It were pretty colors, anyone with lesser eyes wouldn’t even be able to spot the ship against the darkened sky. But he did, could see the darkness within and he could hear the thumping of steps that had him salivate with hunger and teeth pushing against his gums, muscles contracting to pull them out. Reacting to that, he parted his lips, ready to let the first notes echo through the water, reverberate through the air but none had left his lips did he already hear the first sound of water splashing, weight colliding against it but without the rattling of chains that would announce an anchor being sat.

There was something different, was water being pushed aside and a figure moving around, turning this way and that, wearing nothing but pants, boots and shirt abandoned, skin so pale. Skin he had tasted, had bitten, licked and kissed, and Renjun didn’t think twice about it as he rushed up to catch the human in his arms, return to the surface where he wouldn’t risk having to drown his own beloved, not when there were so many better things to do. Like kissing Jeno senseless in the way he had meant to for weeks now, cover his palate with Jeno’s flavor, fill his lungs with his essence - there was nothing of Jeno he didn’t want to have and own and fill him up.

“Tell them you’ll leave, Jeno. Tell them you’re safe with me,” the siren demanded, felt the prickling sensation up his tail, pressuring him. A reminder he was short on time, every passing second was a few meters close to the shore less, and Renjun didn’t want to risk that.

Implication so clear, heart beating so heavy, Jeno all too readily complied, yelling something, Renjun didn’t even listen anymore. Whatever the response was, he didn’t care, had only heard another voice which was as good as a response as it could be. Lips pressing against his neck, the human didn’t protest being propelled through the waters, could not be comfortable for someone who wasn’t used to this sort of pressure but all the siren could focus on were the arms tightening around his shoulders, holding on to him with more force, mirrored need.

There was the first brush of sand against his tail and fin as they approached the shore until there wasn’t, water suddenly so deep, so different to what he was used to his, his normal relations. It was something Jeno couldn’t have possibly missed out on but whereas Renjun was flustered for the moment, it was the younger to react, arms shifting a bit until he could drag the smaller along. And just how much smaller he was the siren only realized then, a thought in the passing before, something he could only try to imagine, it was different now that he had proof, was pressed against his lover like this. 

“Fuck, Renjun,” Jeno grunted by the time they hit the sand, stumbling from the way the latter had his legs curled around his human’s, the ground uneven, a dangerous combination if the siren actually cared about that. “Why do you- What-” Flabbergasted and shocked, it obviously was not what the dark haired had expected to be greeted by, to have slender legs around his hips rather than his own around scaly hips. 

“Full moon,” the older answered, as if that would explain everything but explanations were useless, could be delayed until later when he wasn’t pressed for time, wasn’t achingly hard between his legs, finally making him understand how Jeno must feel whenever they had done these things before. The pressure was so sweet, when he was allowed to rut up against clothed skin, feel the drag of rougher surface against his sensitive manhood and sensitive was indeed, was not sure whether it was the high of the moment or his changed shape, couldn’t tell when it had been so long since he had last been touched like this.

His hold on Jeno tightened at the same time as he arched his back, searching for more contact, wanting to feel as close to his mate as he possibly can. It had been weeks, has been _so long_ since he has been without touch, had felt his body and heart yearning for what he couldn’t have because the person of his desire had not been around. “Missed you, Jen... Missed you so much…,” the siren whined into their kiss, couldn’t help how needy he felt albeit for the moment he would blame it on the moon, stupid glowing thing up there, had no rights to influence him the way it did with the tides. But the moon was a tricky bitch, as much he had realized early enough.

“I love you.” Jeno’s word, they carried all the weight in the world, a new center of gravity to feel pull towards, the strings stitched into their hearts pulled tight until they were as close as possible again. “Let me show you how much I love you, Jun, let me make you feel good again…”

An offer Renjun could by no means refuse, craving to feel so close together again, be with his beloved for the limited time they had in a way they both deserved after all this waiting. He slowly nodded his head, eyes focused on Jeno’s expression intently but his fingers traveled, traced along wet skin until he had found what he was actually looking for, felt the little wilts underneath his fingertips, the steady rhythm of up and down, small cuts that had scarred. It was a mark that wouldn’t leave now, would be one of many if it went the way he wanted, desiring to make sure Jeno would never forget, would always recall their shared times, their moments of love.

This night he felt so awfully mushy, as if his heart had been beaten to pulp like a fish carcass torn apart, was filled with tender feelings, all this yearning that he could finally release, was little gasps and moans where he felt Jeno’s hands on his skin but it was not enough, couldn’t be enough. “Take me, Jeno,” he grunted, didn’t want to wait for the human who took so long, had forced him to remain patient for more than a moon because he didn’t know how to handle it anymore.

His body was overcome with greed, the desire to own, take back what was his, and it was slowly getting used to the circumstances as well. Strength returning, he didn’t hesitate using it, flipped them over so he could straddle Jeno’s hips and the position alone drove heat of embarrassment to his cheeks. Before, whenever the younger had been like this on his tail, he hadn’t realized quite how exposed one could feel, hadn’t been aware how much would be given away despite being such simple position. He felt exposed, weirdly, had never known what legs were supposed to feel like before they had met, and now that he had them, there were all the more things to explore and exploit. 

All patience had been eradicated from his self when he had awaited Jeno’s return, and it showed now as he raised his hips to welcome the dark haired’s manhood in, held in place as he rubbed it between his cheeks, tried to get a feeling for his unknown body first. Results better than he had thought, he couldn’t get enough of the sight, of Jeno splayed out underneath him, cheeks flushed and pupils blown, resembling black holes no one could escape, and the siren all the less. Who was certain, too, that the younger had felt arousal similar to his own since their first shared kiss, but how intense it was now, cock achingly hard in his hold, became more and more obvious then.

“Renjun, don’t- You can’t-” Jeno tried to protest, slight panic in his tone, laced with worry, as if there was something to know which the siren ignored, and ignore the siren did. Renjun didn’t hesitate in sinking himself down, fill himself with Jeno’s dick without halt, and he wasn’t sure he had to regret it or not. This new body was not as accommodating as his own had been, differences in physiology, he had not considered them as well, but the pain it brought along, the stretch and the dryness, the way he could feel it drag along his insides had him moan nonetheless.

How reassuring it was to know, his voice was the same, was echoing loud and clear through the air as he arched his back, his hands splayed out on top of Jeno’s chest, so firm and warm underneath his palms. Supporting himself like this, he tried to move, slow at first but increasingly faster, felt the strain in his thighs, felt the ache in his legs, an emotion he knew but hadn’t experienced since the day he had been fully grown. Back when his muscles hadn’t been as developed, when his tail had been softer, vulnerable to injury, he had felt like this, as if every movement was overly straining the tissue, was tearing him apart, but he hadn’t cared then and he didn’t care now. What did it matter if his legs hurt or not, within a short time he would no longer have them, would allow the pain to fade out as it was stretched along his tail until it was no longer tangible.

There were hands on his hips, supporting his movements until Jeno had learned, feet pressed into the sand that kept slipping away, the human thrust upwards his hips, met each downwards push of the siren, made their skin slap, echo through the night, was not drowned out by loud moans and heavy grunts. It felt so good, had Renjun’s mind go numb, and he didn’t even notice one hand going missing until it was late, until fingers were cupping his cheek and thumb pressing against his lips, teasing him into opening his mouth simply for Jeno to claim. Digit pressing into his teeth, testing whether they were the same, and they were - still sharp, meant to tear through flesh and skin, were still retractable, and currently they were out, always were when he was aroused like this.

Deed that reminded him of his realization before, of Jeno so focused with his fangs, coming from his bite, it had his eyes rolling back from the memory of. Without doubt, the human had that ability, made him feel aroused from memory alone, intense in a manner he had never felt before, had never felt the lingering aftermatch like this, in a way it was haunting him whenever he closed his eyes because it was so real but it had felt so good…

“Shit, Renjun,” Jeno gasped, voice hoarse and words cracking, thumb pressing harder, tracing along sharp teeth, “How do you just take me like this… You feel so good, love, feel so good for me…” Younger more verbal than before, the siren didn’t have it in himself to protest, not when those same words drove heated shivers down his spine, had him clenching around Jeno’s cock and feel it all the more, until he was certain he could mold it from memory alone, from the way he felt it moving inside him, feeling so clear, so hot and hard and filling him with wet.

“‘m yours… ‘s because ‘m all… yours,” Renjun gasped, barely able to phrase his words but the more he felt the pressure on his teeth he harder he fucked down, pressed his hips harshly into Jeno’s to take him in as deep as he could. “Can only take you, Jen, ‘m made only for you…” In a way, he certainly was, his body was an outcome of their love, his changed appearance, it was one price he had to pay, and willingly he did so as well, would continue like this if he was allowed to feel quite that good. 

He moaned in protest, tilting his head to the side and back, trying to get rid of Jeno’s thumb between his lips and once he had, he didn’t stop there. Speed still better than a humans, he had merely allowed the younger to move an inch or so back, already had he snapped forward, teeth pressing into unscatched skin, humane lower arm void of any scars, unlike the long on the leg or the shoulder, unlike the circles adorning his abdominal muscles, the diagonal slash on his chest. So many wounds that had healed over, implied so much pain, but Renjun was not yet done.

The more he moved, the more he felt white-hot pleasure trickle up his spine, setting his body on fire, lighting him up. The more he moved, the more of his cum was spilling from his cock when he hadn’t even cum, detail he hadn’t considered before, had thought to be impossible when he didn’t yet cum. Certainly it looked like it, dick bobbing up and down with his movements, cum spilling this way and that, it looked like an orgasm of minutes when that wasn’t even true. He wished it was, so he could be full of Jeno’s seed again, would feel his traces inside that had him feeling so deprived and delighted at once. 

“Jen- Jeno,” Renjun moaned, words muffled but intent clear, his tongue pressing into the man’s skin, rubbing along it, calling for attention it was what he soon enough received. Eyes clouded over, the younger caught on, the despair that had their movements become frantic, that had their breathing shallow and heartbeats racing. It was so clear, was as evident as the outlines of their bodies underneath moonlight shining white onto their frames, intimacy revealed, privacy exposed, Renjun didn’t even care. He was involved in orgies three times a year, he couldn’t care less if someone watched now, not when he had in his hands the person he had craved for so much. 

The younger nodded, eyes falling shut but from the way strength increased, the last power pushed into it, it was clear that they rode the same wave, the urge to cum, to be one again, and Renjun was more than willing to oblige. Heat simmering low in his guts, cock drooling cum, he waited for the initial spark, this sensation of going vertigo, world tilting two degrees to the left, and his teeth tore through skin to find something to anchor him to this world. Tie him to his love, make sure Jeno would recall, an unforgettable part of their lives because his had already changed in ways Renjun could never revert.

A mark was all it took, the sharp pain of teeth, the clenching of walls around his dick, and Jeno was spilling his seed, filling the siren up with a grunt and rough grinds, cockhead rubbing into the sensitive spot hidden within the smaller one’s body until Renjun, too, could no longer stave off his orgasm. Stars dancing behind closed eyes, brain buzzed, head filled with electricity and not words, he felt like passing out from the intensity more than anything else. Maybe he had, because he couldn’t remember anything until he came to, lying on his side next to his beloved, lips pressing into his hair, onto his forehead and cheeks, brushing the tip of his tongue, and his tail splashed against the water lightly.

“I love you,” Jeno repeated once again, this time more gentle and faint but with all honesty in the world nonetheless. Magnetic forces, meaningful words, earnest eyes. Renjun could not refute, was already a victim being pulled into dark eyes, the warmth and desire, the stars so beautifully reflected, it was nothing he could resist, and it wasn’t like he wanted to either.

“I missed you, my love” the siren smiled, pulling the younger closer but for someone like him, not used to showing affection, not knowing how to express emotion, it was the closest semblance of these words that could be reached. And he was happy, so incredibly happy, to be finally reunited with the one who held his heart, who had taken it away and carried it across the seas but returned it safely all the same. Jeno really was the one, there was no one else, and Renjun was more than content with that. 

𝇏𝆴𝆵𝆴𝇏 ❥ )͜͡˒ ⋊

“So that’s your fish boy?” A man with wide eyes and mischievous grin asked, and it was a question Renjun had him regret for the next second, the human was already dunked into the water, splashing hitting the other ones’ ears before anyone had seen him move. Renjun didn’t care whether something hurt to that guy, Jeno’s family or not, because he didn’t like to be insulted.

“Siren,” he snarled at the man who had managed to return to the surface already, “Or should I call you _food_ and then eat you too?” The siren’s teeth were bared, fully pulled out, filling his mouth in the way they would only when he was overcome with hunger, be it for food or his beloved. 

The man looked startled for all of a prolonged moment, emotion that only faded when Renjun’s expression softened, soothed down by the calming touch of Jeno’s fingers in his hair, stroking down his nape and rubbing little circles there. “Don’t kill him, love,” the dark haired asked softly, smile tender as was his touch, filling the tailed with cozy warmth, “Jaemin won’t even taste nice, drinks way too much of that shitty booze. You should get yourself another princess to eat instead, didn’t you like the taste of that pink girl?”

In the boat, the same one Jeno had used to make his way to Renjun’s island originally, another male gagged, made this sound of throwing up that had the siren’s eyes slimming because how dare he throw up in waters that weren’t his own? The pirates had the island - minus his cave - and he had the waters, it was an easy distribution, so the walker better throw up on land. “I can’t believe you tell him to eat humans! Did he fuck your brains out or something?” The tan stranger accused, finger pointing at Jeno in a way that didn’t make Renjun happy at all. 

He had enough, to put it simply, even though they had talked for barely two minutes or something, and it showed. Tilting his head, he pressed a kiss to Jeno’s lower arm, right beneath the recent mark he had left, scabbed over in that ugly way before it would become beautiful again. Like a butterfly, the younger had told him before, some weird insect, and Renjun didn’t even understand what an insect was but he had still felt affronted when he had been compared to one, that changed from a fuzzy thing with too many legs into some eel with fragile wings. Why would anyone grow fragile wings? Wasn’t that plain stupid when things were supposed to be resilient and sturdy?

His love’s smile was gentle and warm, and the only sort of sign the siren needed. With one tender pull, he led Jeno out of the boat and into his arms, much to the family’s disdain who made some noises of protest that Renjun had easily shut down, needed only one flick of his tail to send the whole boat flipping over, its habitants included. It was noisy, they were flabbergasted and moved around too much, and Renjun didn’t care because he had Jeno in his arms and could lazily lead them away from the mess. He had missed this, having his arms around that sturdy waist, feel lower arms propped onto his chest, steering with his behind find and swaying with his tail at a leisure pace that lead them into privacy, because these waters were his and the others wouldn’t be able to reach them with ease. 

“Are you upset with them?” Jeno asked after a bit, when humane yells had faded out, and their swimming speed slowed down as well. Concern that couldn’t be hidden, because both sides meant so much to the one caught in the middle, and it pierced right through Renjun’s heart at once. 

The older grunted lightly but tried to school his expression into something more amiable, more welcoming because it was not his love he was upset with, something the human must know too. “I’m trying not to be…” He mumbled, and he meant it like that, he really didn’t mean to be upset because he had to be thankful, had to appreciate that they brought him his most treasured belonging back, that they made certain of Jeno being safe when he couldn’t. 

“They don’t mean it like that,” the dark haired tried to be reassuring, a gentle smile on his lips and fingers drawing patterns into wet skin. It was distracting in a good way and it was soothing, Renjun’s chest all tingly and filled with warmth, and he had realized within the recent hours that it was impossible for him to harbor any bad feelings when Jeno was so good to him at the same time. These black holes he kept seeing in dark eyes, he wasn’t sure whether they were sucking all of him in or just the negative feelings he harbored within his chest at times. “Goodness, you should have heard what they said when I first told them all about it… You got the softened down version, love,” Jeno smiled tenderly, the kind of smile that made it impossible for the siren to remain upset.

Renjun pouted lightly, pushing his lower lip out a bit, tried to imagine what else they could have possibly come up with to tarnish their relationship. He hadn’t realized - no, he hadn’t even thought about it, about the fact that it would bring more trouble upon Jeno than him because the only visitor he had was Yuta, and that too had only been twice. But Jeno… His lovely, tender Jeno who would have to deal with so much just for being with a siren rather than another human, but who still did it, who had said he would stay around for as good as could be, move their home, the island a set place for them to return to. It was the best form of living together they could possibly have, was protection for their shared treasure, was spending so much more time together now. 

“Just give them some time to come around,” the human asked, a little smile on his lips still, so much warmth that Renjun barely knew how to handle, was a wish with blood running cold, not the other way around. “They will love you, Renjun. You’ll have a family of your own before you know it.”

At that, the siren couldn’t help wrinkle his nose. He wasn’t certain he wanted a family if they were like that, he didn’t enjoy being called a fish and he wasn’t sure he wanted to be called out for eating humans, lest he consider gnawing that Jaemin guy’s leg off next. It wasn’t like he was protesting when they ate the fish he kept either. 

“But, you know,” Jeno started after a while, fingers drawing patterns into wet skin whereas Renjun’s webbed hands were splayed out across a warm back, rubbing circles down his spine, exploring the deep lines and soft raises of muscles and flesh, looked for little bumps of scars from childhood days and fights alike. He loved them, all these little marks, loved that he was allowed to add more one at a time, cover Jeno with his marks until the younger would be his entirely. There was a flush spreading high on the human’s cheeks, faint red dusted onto skin, and it look so beautiful the siren could not look away. “I don’t think I would mind if you fucked my brains out sometime…”

Okay. Fine. Even Renjun got that this wasn’t meant the literal way, it was just Jeno saying they should turn their dynamic around and that - that certainly wasn’t something Renjun could handle with ease. “Fuck,” he growled, baring his revealed teeth as he snapped upwards to claim Jeno’s lips with his, keep them locked together as he sped through the water now, back to the entrance of the cave, choosing the path Jeno did not yet know, the one impossible for a human to take of his own but his human was not alone. His treasure was well kept, caught within his arms, secure hold, he did not plan to let go. 

**Author's Note:**

> You reached this point and if you think I'm crazy now then - that's very relatable! haha  
> Please remember to blame [Aya]() and [Tine](https://twitter.com/reonjeolmis) who were my muses for this and kept me motivated too ❤️
> 
> follow me on [twitter](https://twitter.com/starrymeis) or send me your thoughts on [curiouscat](https://curiouscat.me/starrymeis) ❤️
> 
> side notes on the end  
> \- I had to research entirely too much marine genitalia and mating rituals for this  
> \- a lot more of my friends are invested in monsterfucking/human-non human relationships than I had first anticipated  
> \- the reason Renjun can grow legs for one hour every full moon is because one of the first sirens fell in love with a human male and got impregnated magically. unable to birth the child, she ended her own life in anguish and the Keepers (read: gods) granted every siren mating a human a certain leniency (the one hour every full moon, plus females remain human in case of pregnancy)  
> \- Jaemin will get dunked into the water for at least another 2 years still, and Hyuck gets flipped over in boats for three


End file.
